Supernatural
by icypinkroses
Summary: A/U. Ichigo and Orihime are engaged and will soon be wed. They couldnt' be happier. However, being demon hunters in a world full of supernatural beings makes for an unstable relationship. Suddenly it seems that the universe is vehemently agaisnt their relationship. Will they beable to stay together? Or will this become another bittersweet horror story? Adult situations and themes
1. Chapter 1

**Well to those of you who are in the middle of reading my other story, I know I promised you a sordid affair between a teacher and a student, I will write that. Its just that I was super inspired to write this. I don't even know if I'll continue this. It might just end up being a one shot or whatever. I just had to write this out. I hope you like it.**

* * *

It's a cold September night. The moon is full, shining brightly in the cloudless sky. It illuminates the Onose River as the gentle breeze caress the water, causing gentle ripples to mar the surface. It is quiet. The only sound being the rustling of leaves and the grass.

The silent peace was interrupted by the sound of a man drunkenly stumbling along the grass, a large grin plastered on his face. His aqua green eyes were dull and watery. His inky black hair was a disheveled mess along with his white long sleeved button down shirt and slacks. He mumbles a song to himself as he shuffles to stand along the river's edge.

He stares out at the river, thinking of the one that he loves and how he is to marry her in only a few months. The guys took him out to celebrate his engagement, and admittedly, he had more sake and happoshu than he could handle. He had only come outside for a breath of fresh air. Somehow, he had ended up all the way at the Onose River.

He runs his hands through his hair, tugging on it slightly as he blows out a puff of air. He should be getting back. If not, his friends will likely come and harass him about trying to duck out early and not being able to hold his liquor.

He turns around to walk away from the river, when a flash of black catches his eye. He double takes, hoping its just his alcohol induced state that is causing him to see things.

It is not.

There are thick long locks of black hair floating in the river.

"Hello?" he calls out to the hair. There is no reply.

"Is there someone in there?" he tries again, turning back to face the river and walking closer.

A figure pops out of the water. It is a woman. Her skin is so fair that is practically luminescent in the moonlight. Her slender figure glistens with droplets of the cool water. Her long, wet ebony hair clings to her body, shield her naked breasts from view. Her grey eyes are wide and her red lips seemed to strangle to form words. Her arms flail around her body, splashing water everywhere around her.

Her beautiful face is in a panic. The man could clearly see terror in her eyes.

Quickly, he races into action.

Struggles to take his shoes off, and he rips his shirt open, letting it fall to the ground.

"Help! SOMEBODY HELP!" he shouts as he dashes to the river. The water is bone chilling cold as he wades through it. When he is deep enough, he dives and swims towards the distressed woman.

The currents are oddly strong for such a clear night; they flow and ebb harshly, making his journey to the woman quite difficult and nearly impossible.

Finally, he makes it towards her, wrapping an arm around her waist, he places one of her over his shoulder.

"Don't worry. You're going to be alright. I got you, everything is going to be okay," he assures her as he begins to make his way back to shore.

Suddenly, his right becomes painfully numb. Panicking, he wills it to move but it doesn't obey. It just lies limply at his side. Cold water rushes into his nose and mouth as he begans to sink.

Keeping his grip tight on the damsel, he pumps his legs faster and harder in a fashion similar to that of a mermaid to keep them afloat.

His left leg goes numb.

Fear's icy claw grips ahold of his heart tightly. He sinks once more, his right arm instinctively released the woman as he uses it to try to keep them above water.

His right leg goes numb.

Long dark locks of hair surrounds him, latching on to his arms and legs.

His right arm goes numb.

Using only his torso, he struggles against the waters that are quickly closing over him and the hair that has ensnared him.

His panic filled aqua green eyes locked on the grey eyes of the woman who was allegedly "drowning". She returns his gaze, hunger coloring her eyes.

She pulls him deeper into the ocean. His body burns with the lack of oxygen. He begins to feel light-headed and battles to hold his breath. A battle in which he is quickly losing.

The beautiful woman gives him a hungry smile, displaying impressive razor sharp teeth.

His heart goes into overdrive as he renews his fight against her. He accidently releases some of his breath. The bubbles full of oxygen quickly brushes by his face and escape to the surface.

She moves, effortlessly through the water to the drowning man. He flinches away from her as she places an icy cold hand to his face. She moves hers closer to his, landing a light kiss upon his struggling face.

She gives him more kisses, focusing only on his mouth. Soon, she completely covers his mouth with her own.

He can feel her teeth dig into the soft flesh around his mouth. He releases a strangled scream which is quickly swallowed by the woman as she opens her mouth even wider.

Like a snake, she unhinges her jaw and covers an incrediably large portion his lower face and bites into it.

Intense sharp pain races through his body as he feels her teeth sink into his neck as she devours his jaw. The sickening sound of crushing bone and the image of a faceless girl with black hair tied in a ponytail are his last sensations as the dark oblivion consumes him.

oOo

* * *

"Kaien!"

"Kaien-sama!"

"Shiba-saaan~ where are yoou~"

"KAIEN-SAN! COME ON OUT YOU LIGHT WEIGHT!"

Various, good humored, drunken voices fills the air as several men call out to their soon to be married friend.

"KAIEN-SAN! WHERE ARE YOU?"

They called and called all through the night in search of their friend.

Unfortunately for them, when they do find him, it would only be his bloodied shredded remains. The only evidence of what transpired that night to the man who would now, never be able to marry his fiancé, who's sat home alone, waiting for her love to return.

oOoO

* * *

Ichigo awoke with a start. His bare torso covered in sweat. His bright orange hair plastered to his head and face. His breath was rapid and his heart was beating erratically.

He had that dream again.

The one about his mother when she passed away saving his life. She fell into the water and was devoured by a monster. The water ran red with her blood, staining his hands and his soul forever.

Only, it wasn't a dream, more of a memory. A horrible memory that has haunted him every night since he was nine for the past 15 years.

Well, not quite.

"Oh, Ohayou gozaimasu Kurosaki-kun. You are up early," said the only reason why Ichigo is ever able to have a peaceful night rest without the interruption of the nightmare. She leaned against the door frame, still donning her sleeping shorts and black camisole, her hair piled high on top of her head. He scowls lightly, his mood instantly brightening as he looks into the eyes of his savior.

"Orihime, I thought that when we began to date that you would stop with the formalities. When I asked you to become my girlfriend, I was certain that you would start using my name. However, here we are, engaged and living together and yet, you still call me Kurosaki. Tell me, when we get married, are you still going to insist on calling me Kurosaki?"

The curvaceous orange haired woman tilted her head and placed her index finger on her lower lip and thought for a few minutes.

"Well...I can always call you Ichi-bo?" an adorably mischievous smile splayed upon her lips.

Ichigo's scowl darkened and he growled.

"Now you're just asking to be punished," he growled at her, leaping off the bed with superhuman speed, her dashed across the spacious room to his future wife and pinned her against the wall. He towered over her, his chocolate brown orbs stared into hers, and an evil smirk decorated his face.

She swallowed audibly, fearing that she has pushed him too far. She gives a nervous, pleading smile.

"Now, now Kurosaki-kun, let's not get too hasty," she held her hands up, just centimeters away from his broad, well developed chest. His smirk grows more vicious. He presses tighter against her, forcing her deeper into the wall.

"It seems that you still haven't learned your lessons from last time. Do you need a second course? Or perhaps, some tutoring?" he asked lowly, his voice barely above a low seductive whisper.

Orihime shakes her head vigorously, her legs were still sore from her last "lesson" a few days before. She was also certain that her back would possibly never be the same again.

His hand slowly trails up her arm. His nails gently glided the skin up her forearm, to her upper arm, scaled her shoulder and continued its journey along the curvature of her cheek, up her face to her hairline and slowly drifted to her back of her head at the base of her neck.

Two of his long slender fingers coil a lose lock of her hair. He uses the hair to pull her head back, granting him easier access to her face. She inhales sharply, shivers tingling all over her body settling in her lower stomach and began to simmer.

He leans closer to her, his face only mere centimeters away from hers. He's able to clearly smell the minty toothpaste upon her breath.

"No?" he mummers, his nose slides against her cheek in a slow vertical motion, causing her breath to slowly increase, her eyes flutter fitfully. "No, I don't think that's right. I think that you're in need of more…instruction." He whispers besides her ear, his warm breath tickling her neck in the most sensual way.

She bites her lip painfully, trying to overcome the dazed feeling that was suddenly thrust upon her. She tried her hardest to gather her thoughts, to not let him drag her underneath his spell as he always does.

But like always, she's pulled under, entangled in his carefully spun web of desire. The more she struggled against it, the more enmeshed she became. Caught like a fish in a net, she was unable to get away. His spell over her was ironclad.

Or so she thought.

In actuality, Ichigo had to try very hard to not get lost in her. To not give into his desires and devour the beauty. He was certain that she was unaware of her hold over him and he prays that she never learns. All it would take is just a little bit of dominance on her part and he would be putty in her small hands. His control over her was nowhere near the authority that she held over him.

She just didn't know it.

His other hand slips underneath her chin, bringing it to him and placed a deep, lingering kiss upon her lips.

She sighed deeply and he inhaled her, restraining himself from burying his hands into her hair.

Just when he was about to lose his control, a loud, wailing sound ranged through their entire home.

Ichigo growled and nearly punched the wall. Orihime looked dazed, then relieved and disappointed at the same time.

He turns away from the girl and stalks out of their bedroom into their monitoring room across the hall. The room blinked a dark red as a monitor flashed and address and number. He growled in frustration.

"Really? This fucking early in the morning? Is there no such thing as rest for the fucking weary?!" he muttered angrily to himself.

He grabs the cell lying next to the monitor and dialed the number that flashed across the screen, at the same time he typed keys on the computer to silence the wailing.

"Hello?" a panicked voice answers the phone.

"What is it?" Ichigo demands into the phone, making his way back to his room. His clothes and gear already lying on the bed.

Orihime was already suited up in her gear. Why she insisted on wearing skin tight leather pants for these missions, her never understood why. He tried once to demand that she not wear them.

A mistake that he will never make again.

She was currently braiding her long orange hair in a tight French braid. He could spend forever watching her get ready.

"…don't know what the fuck this thing is, but it got wings…its grey and scaly….it just fucking ripped fucking Shinji in fucking half!" the voice shouted.

"Okay, Okay, just calm down. It sounds like a low level yokai. Don't worry, we're on our way. Do you have any salt near you?" he asked, pulling on his pants and grabbing his shirt.

"How the fuck am I supposed to know!? And why the fuck would I need salt?!" the voice on the other line screamed.

Ichigo grew irritated. "Because it will fucking protect you from the fucking yokai!" he yelled into the phone.

Orihime tossed him his long black and white sword that was wrapped up in a thick bandaged. He caught it with one hand, strapping it to his back. She walked over to him and grabbed his hand. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the address that was in Ichigo's mind and the man's frantic voice over the phone.

Their world began to dissolve around them, melding into different colors and images. Suddenly, they were on the street, the salmon colored sky hinted at the sun that was beginning to rise just over the horizon.

The smell of fresh split blood permeated the air. The coppery tang of human blood always made Ichigo wince slightly and his stomach coil tightly in knots. He's forced to remember the night of his mother's death every time he encounters that smell.

Thrusting his queasiness aside, he scanned the scene for the monster. Orihime has already left his side, in search for the man who was on the phone and possibly his dead friend.

He heard the flapping of thick leathery wings overhead. It was the yokai.

Smelling fresh food, it dove towards Ichigo. He quickly evaded the monster, grabbing his sword from his back. With a quick flick of his wrist, it was released from its bindings. He could feel the power of it flow into his veins, meshing and combining with his own.

He jumped into the air, raising his sword high above his head and bringing it down with a heavy swing. The yokai evaded just in time.

In a smooth motion, he swung his sword arm to the right of him, impaling the demon squarely in the shoulder. It screamed in pained. The black blood spilling out onto his sword and staining the pavement.

He yanked it upwards, slicing the grey, scaly flesh of the yokai open, causing more of its blood to pour out. It howled loudly, an injured cry bubbled up from its throat before Ichigo sliced through its neck, silencing the yokai forever.

It bubbled and smoke rose up from the ground where it had been slain. The smell of putrid, rotting flesh filled the air. Ichigo much preferred this smell than that of human blood.

His head began to pound, a searing pain shot through his skull.

Shoving his sword through the pavement, he leaned against it to steady himself, grasping his face with his hand. He struggled to keep upright.

Whatcha doing kingie? Having fun killing yokai?

"Ugh! Get…out…of…my…head…" Ichigo grunted.

Why? Its been a while since I've been out and I was beginning to feel rather…ansty?

"You…bastard!" Ichigo muttered through gritted teeth. "Get…out…of…my…head!" The pressure that was mounting in his skull increased. It felt as though his brain was swelling.

I'm afraid that that's quite impossible kingie. There's no way that I can ever leave you…not that I would even want to, you're just too much fun to play with.

The pressure increased. He fell to his knees. When did the bastard become so strong?

Kingie, are you getting weaker? Or am I getting stronger? Maybe it's a bit of both.

"Shut the fuck up..!"

Don't be too upset kingie. I'll take good care of our body, like always. I'll also take good care of our princess's body too.

"You Bastard!...I'll kill you before…I'd ever let that…happen…"

How do you plan on doing that? You can't even fight me off without her by your side.

"Ichigio!"

Speak of the devil…or should I say his daughter?

"Shut…up…she's not…a demon!"

"Oh, so now witches and demons are different things?"

"She's human!"

"For how long?"

"SHUT UP!"

"Ichigo!" Orihime ran to him, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Ichigo...your aura…its all muddled again…it's him isn't it?" her grey eyes were wide with concern.

"What I wouldn't give to feel those thick, thighs wrapped around my…"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Ichigo shouted at his inner demon.

Orihime flinched slightly, completely aware of who he was talking to.

She closed her eyes and concentrated. When she opened them, they glowed a brilliant white as she began to absorb the evilness that lurked inside of her fiancé, draining it of its power and strength.

When she felt that it was no longer a threat, she stopped.

The evil aura pulsed inside her. She felt its impurity invading her mind and her heart. Dark thoughts coursed through her mind. The urge to kill burned through her like a wildfire.

It was gone as quickly as it had come.

Still, she knew that this didn't bode well for her.

It always happened when she absorbed the evil from Ichigo. Briefly she would become consumed with dark engery and ill intent. The more she did it, the worse it got.

Ichigo has been working on keeping it repressed and so far it was going well. This was the first time in weeks that he's slipped. It seemed that as Ichigo got stronger, so did his inner demon.

And as his demon got stronger, so did its dark energy and the more corrupted she became after absorbing it.

Ofcourse, she'd never tell Ichigo about this. He has a hard enough time with her absorbing the dark energy as is. If he found out that it was corrupting her, he would probably distance himself away from her for her own protection.

He slumped against her, breathing heavily. Nothing tired him out more than dealing with his inner demon.

She wrapped her arms around her fallen love, and concentrated on being home, in their bed.

Their world around them dissolves, and they were home again.

She lied them both on the bed and snuggled closer to Ichigo, pressing her small body against his, trying to give him all of the comfort she could offer.

His arms tighten around her, pressing her even closer to him. Her presence was enough to keep away the nightmares and ill vibes and terror that seized his heart whenever his inner demon showed his face. His worst fear was losing to him and Orihime being hurt in the process.

He'd kill himself before he ever let that happened.

He fell asleep, listening to the soft and even breathing of his one and only comfort in life. He could face anything as long as she was at his side.

oOo

* * *

It was a cool crisp September night, the moon shone brightly and hung in the sky like an ever lasting light. It was beautiful night really. Birds chirped sofly, whispering their goodnights to each other. Crickets sounds were coming to a slow halt. And the empty elementary school seemed almost abandoned. Not a soul was in sight.

Or so you would think.

The science teacher was still at the school, doing experiments that wouldn't be appropriate for an elementary science teacher. Or anyone for that matter.

A few small kids sat whimpering in a corner, tears streamed their face as they watch the crazed man experiment on one of their classmates.

The muffled cries of their fellow classmates filled their hearts to the brim with terror. Bluish light reflect from the experimentation table. Dark red blood dripped to the floor. Their teacher laughed manically as the body twitched and jerked around on the table.

Unable to take it anymore, a little girl with short brown pigtails stood up and bolted from the room, screaming help as high as her small, horsed voice could go.

The science teacher groaned in frustration. This was time wasted that could be better spent on his experiment. He halted his experiment and stood up from his chair. The metal feet of the chair scraped against the linoleum floor, causing a loud screeching sound.

He left the room, taking great care to lock the door so that no more of the children will try for an escape.

Slowly, he walked down the dark halls, his shoes echoing in the halls.

He heard the sounds of whimpers. A name whispered through his mind as he approached the girls bathroom. The whimpering was a lot more evident.

"Hanako-san?" he called softly, entering the bathroom. It was dark, the only light being the one that came from the small window.

Slowly, he made his way toward the first stall. He knocked on the door.

"Hanako-san? Are you there?" he moved on to the second stall. She wasn't in there. So he moved to the third stall. "Are you there, Hanako-san?" he asked knocking on the stall door.

There was a sniffle and a soft reply.

"Yes, I am here."

He bursts in through the door and sees the little girl. A grin on his face.

"Why hello dear, what are you doing here all by your lonesome?" he frowns.

This isn't the same girl as before. This girl has bobbed black hair and she's wearing a red skirt. She stares at him for a moment. In his perihprial vison he spots a girl without a face and a ponytail at the base of her neck.

He turns to see who it was and if his mind was playing tricks on him, when something cold and hard grasps his neck and forces him down on to his knees. He struggles against this unknown force. It is too strong; he's forced onto his knees, his head towards the toilet bowl.

Somehow the toilet water rises to meet his face as his head is plunged into the toilet. His arms flail around, trying to push the lever to flush the toilet. It's not working, instead of flushing; the water only rises and begins to boils.

He screams inhaling the water. It suffocates him, his lungs burn as they fill with water. His face is in no better condition.

His movements become jerky and slow as they grind to a halt. The pressure on his neck is gone, but it's too late.

He's dead.


	2. The Blair Witch Project

**So I decided to do another chapter. Here it is. Enjoy. **

**To Jubee-chan: All fox demons are yokia but not all yokai are fox demons. o.O Yokai are demons of different kinds. Most have animal traits like foxes or bears, and they like to shape shift into human forms, but they aren't exclusively fox demons. Thank you for reading and reviewing and don't hesitate for more questions. It keeps me honest. **

**To: Aiko1991: I'm glad you love the story. I hope that I can keep living up to your expectations of the story so that you will continue to love it. **

**As for the rest of you. Please read and review and enjoy!**

* * *

This morning, in Karakura elementary, the six missing children were found huddled together, locked in the school's basement. One child was found dead on a table, his body carved open as if he was being operated on.

When asked of who had done this to them, the children all stated that their science teacher, Kurotsuchi Mayuri, lured them to the basement after school a few days ago and kept them hostage.

Kurotsuchi was found dead. It appears that he was drowned in a toilet of the girl's bathroom. Specialist says that he could've possibly slipped and fell unconscious, headfirst, into the toilet seat. Others say that it could be due to supernatural causes.

In other news…

"So what do you think it was Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime asked looking over her shoulder to her beloved as he chopped onions, garlic and bell peppers, tossing them into a pan to sauté them. There was a high hissing sound as the vegetables met the hot oil of the pan. The delicious aroma of the frying veggies fills the air, making Orihime's mouth water.

Ichigo shrugs his shoulder, completely focused on the task at hand.

"Maybe it was a vengeful ghost protecting the students at the school. I don't think it is anything to worry about. It is not like that the bastard didn't deserve it."

Orihime mulled it over, the gears turning in her mind.

"Still…don't you think that it's a bit strange that there hasn't been any murders in that school, yet this ghost just up and appears and kills him?"

"How do you know that there weren't any previous…Orihime are you feeling the history of that school?"

She bites her lower lip nervously, and nods her head, fully aware that he can't see her.

He sighs, putting down the wooden spoon he was using to stir the veggies.

"Orihime, you shouldn't do that, you just leave yourself open to evil spirits that would want to posses you," he stated tiredly. They have had this conversation countless times before, yet she still casted her powers about, opening herself to the spirits to read the histories and the energies of people and areas. Not to mention, it always left her tired and exhausted to use her powers in such a directionless and wide scope. It was a waste of energy and her resources and she was unnecessarily putting herself in harm's way.

"I know Kurosaki-kun, but you don't have to worry, I only focused on the school, which was easy to do because I went there as a little girl. I was already attuned to it, so I wasn't in any danger."

He just shook his head, knowing full well that if he told her that he just didn't want her to do things like that because she would only put herself in danger, she would become upset thinking that he doesn't think that she could handle herself.

He knows that she can handle herself. She's very powerful for a half witch. The strongest that he's ever met, and unfortunately for him, he's met a lot of them. But it doesn't mean that he doesn't worry every time they go on a mission, or every time that she uses her powers to fight off yokai, or to exorcise ghosts and vengeful spirits.

He grabs the white wine and pours some into the pan, whisking the mixture with quick flicks of his wrist.

"Could you take the pasta off of the heat and drain it, also, throw those shrimps in that pan of butter right there." He said, nodding to the pan of simmering butter next to him. She does as she's told, adding oil to the angle hair pasta so that it won't clump together.

He turns down the white wine mixture to let it reduce, and focused his attention on the shrimp, seasoning them and coating them evenly in the butter.

They cook in companionable silence, only speaking when they needed something. Silently working through their frustration.

Their job was frustrating. It didn't help that when someone you love was putting themselves in constant danger.

The food was done, they sat down on the couch to enjoy their meal, watching the news.

"This is really good Kurosaki-kun, what did you say it was again?"

"Shrimp scampi, I learned the recipe from an old roommate of mines in college."

"Was it Saddo-san?"

"Yeah…I think it was him. Man…I haven't heard from him in a long time…we should invite him to the wedding." A huge smile appears on Orihime's face, her grey eyes lit up.

"Yeah! We can invite everyone from college! But why stop there, lets invite all of our classmates from high school ooh, and the people from the organization…and…and…"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down Orihime. I didn't say invite the whole world. Besides, I'm pretty sure that half of those people won't show up because they hate me."

"Kurosaki-kun, I'm sure no one hates you."

"Really? Because after we started dating in high school, I was in a fight almost every day from the shitheads and asshats who had a thing for you. And in college I had to beat those bastards off with Zangetsu."

"Really?" she tilts her head, looking upwards, her index finger at the base of her mouth. " I don't remember any of that."

"What? How could you not being constantly surrounded with douchebags trying to get inside of your pants?"

She blushed, her face becoming an adorable shade of pink.

"Because the only boy I noticed was Kurosaki-kun."

Ichigo would never admit how her extremely cheesy confession made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. As a hunter, he wasn't allowed to feel warm and fuzzy inside. Yet, this gentle beauty always seemed to inspire those feelings inside him.

Setting his food aside, he pounced on her. Giggles erupting from her mouth as he tickled her. Somehow she had managed to keep her food from spilling. Taking her plate, he set on the ground and continued his assault. Her face turned a bright red, reaching all the way to her hairline.

She tried to tickle him back in return, but he batted her hands away and intensified his attack. She was laughing so hard that lack of air became a problem. Her sides ached in pain, her abdomen became sore.

He stops tickling her and just wraps his arms around her nuzzling the crook of her neck.

Her chest moves rapidly beneath him as she struggles to regain her breath. A few of her giggles remain as she composes herself.

He begins to lay butterfly kisses on her neck, making his way to her face. These kisses were sweet and gentle, much unlike her normally hot headed and aggressive fiancé. She was sure that this was inspired by her confession.

Finally, he makes his way to her lips. He stays there.

She opens her mouth and their tongues meet to perform a seductive dance, their lips moving in time with one another.

His hand moves to her head, smoothing her hair back and gently urging her head back for better access. She greedily obliges him, snaking her arm around his neck and her leg around his torso.

His hand which isn't fingering her hair, trails down her body to land on her large breasts. She moans when her squeezes the large boob and begins to massage it.

She tangles her hand in his spikey orange locks. He ground against her, pushing her deeper into the couch, enjoying the moan that escaped her mouth.

He released her lips, kissing and nipping along her jawline and continued to grind against her. She moaned loudly, her breath hitching as she moved with him. She grabbed his hair tightly, pulling it as delicious warmth spread throughout her entire body and collected in her groin. His erection was painfully obvious, it was so hard that he was sure that it was going to rip free of his blue jeans.

He groaned as he rubbed against her, the friction of his pants on his erection exciting him and taking him to a familiar height. All he wanted to do now was rip off their clothes and enter her.

He nipped his way back to her mouth, covering it and delving his tongue deeper into her mouth.

One of her hands leaves his hair and trails southward to his pants, or rather, towards his erection. She began to rub it through his pants, affectively ceasing any other thought in his mind leaving him to only focus on her ministrations.

He moaned into her mouth and began to move against her hand. She smiled into his kiss, relishing that she's causing him to react, rather than it being the other way around.

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise," a voice that Ichigo has learned to hate chimes. He groans when his outrageously beautiful wife halts her movements and begins to struggle from underneath him. He tightens his arms around her and growls, halting her movements.

"Oh no, Please don't stop on our account," giggled Rangiku Masamoto.

"What hell are you doing here hag?" he snarls at the bodacious woman.

"Duh, it's Wednesday night, time for our coven meeting." She replied, tossing her silken strawberry blonde locks over her shoulders.

"Kurosaki-san, it's nice to see you again," offered a soft, meek voice. He groans internally. It was literally impossible to be mean to Hinamori-san. She was exactly like his Orihime only sometimes her darkness would take over and she'd get this crazed, murderous look in her eyes.

On those days, she would be bounded and they would form a purity circle to purify her body of the dark and evil energies that has possessed her.

"Come on Bobbie-chan! We're doing something exciting today!" a pink haired midget jumped on Ichigo's back.

"AHh! Get off of me you midget!" he yelled at her. Yachiru Kusajishi jumped backwards from his back and landed besides them on the floor. "Come on Icchi-chan, you guys can get freaky later."

He growled and looked at all of the leather clad women that filled his living room. They all donned leather miniskirts and leather and fishnet lace up corset. Every time that Ichigos sees Orihime's coven, he remembers why she dresses up in leather to do missions.

Still, she looks incredibly hot in leather. He couldn't decide whether to hate Rangiku for it, or to thank her profusely.

Ichigo felt himself briefly fall onto the couch as his Orihime disappears from underneath him and reappears by Rangiku, dressed in the same fashion.

"Gomenasai Onee-san, I had forgotten momentarily," she apologizes as she hugs the busty woman. But of course, Rangiku being the woman that she is grabs Orihime into a bear hug and squeezes the woman tightly.

They were both way too busty for them to do something like that and not be erotic.

Or so Ichigo thought as he was sitting up and clutching his pants to hide his erection from the women in the room.

"Konbanw, Ichigo-kun," said a soft voice off to the corner. It belonged to the new girl. She was petite with black hair and violet eyes. Ichigo struggled to remember her name.

"Uh..hi…?"

"Kuchiki Rukia," she helped him, a small giggle escaping her mouth.

"Oh yeah, Rukia," he ran a hand not covering his junk through his hair. "You're dating Renji right?" a surprised looks flittered across her face.

"Yeah…how did you know?"

"I know the guy. He's a total ass by the way, I'm sure you can do better." He said remembering every time that Renji is around he tries to convince Orihime to leave him.

The raven haired girl laughs softly again and steps closer to Ichigo.

"You think so?" she asked with a tilt of her head. Ichigo shrugged.

"Hey, if douche bags with a double digit I.Q are your thing then go for it. But even then, I'm still sure that you can do better." He gave her his trademark smirk. Laughing, she moves even closer to Ichigo, only the coffee table stood between them.

Ichigo briefly wondered where Yachiru had wondered off. He was fairly certain that she was standing beside him not too long ago. He looked around and saw that she was hanging on Orihime's neck like a cape.

Something wasn't right.

He counted the witches.

Hinamori, Masamoto, Kusajishi, Kuchiki, Orihime…

"Say, where Yoruichi-san is?" he asked Rukia. She looked taken aback by the change of subject.

"She's buying the supplies we need for tonight." Ichigo snorted.

"Oh so she's with Urahara. Speaking of which, I should go to him, we need to restock as well." He said more to himself than to Rukia.

"Restock? Do you have a coven of your own?" she inquired, interest coloring her eyes.

"Me? No. Orihime and I are hunters."

"You are? That's amazing, Renji is a hunter too and so am I! It's actually how we met."

"Yeah, I knew that Renji was a hunter. I kind of grew up with the bastard so I know way more about him than I want to know."

"I don't see Inoue-san being much of a hunter." She commented with a small snort. He snapped his attention back to her his chocolate brown eyes growing hostile and staring deeply into her violet ones.

"What does that mean?" he growled. She raised her hands up defensively a soft smile on her face.

"Hey, calm down. I was just saying that she seems to lack a certain…killing instinct. I couldn't see her hurting anyone. Even if it's an enemy." His features soften and he felt like an even bigger douche bag than Renji. He ran his hands through his hair, glad that his erection is finally gone.

"Sorry, you're right. She does lack a killing instinct. But she makes up for it by gathering Intel and being able to heal and revive those that are victims of the yokai so it evens out."

"She can heal and revive the dead?"

"Um…can't all witches do that?"

"No, not that I heard of?" There was an awkward silence for a minute.

"Kuchiki-chan, it's time to go." Orihime said walking over to them. She went up to Ichigo and leaned down placing a short kiss on his temple.

He reached up and grabbed her, dragging her to him, enveloping her in a deeper kiss.

When he released her, her face was tomato red and she was short of breath. Embarrassed she looked to Rukia and gave her an apologetic smile and ran off to join the rest of her coven.

Ichigo watch her go, a smile lingering on his face. Rukia watched this, a strange look on her face, yet no one noticed.

The witches stood in a circle in the middle of the room and held hands. Their token items that was attached to their person in some way began to glow as a gentle ethereal smoke surrounded their bodies.

They disappeared, leaving behind a smell of vanilla and chocolate.

Now he was alone.

He stood up and stretched. Gathering the plates of food that was left abandoned and taking them to the kitchen.

He decided that now was as good of a time as any to go to Urahara-san's shop and restock. He grabbed his keys, cell and Zangetsu and headed out of the house.

oOo

* * *

The night was bad. It was cold and rainy. The moon was hidden by storm clouds. Every so often the sky would ignite with lighting, yet no thunder would ever follow.

Alone in the night, the woman shivered, pulling her coat closer to her person. She regretted not getting that ride home when she was offered one. Now she had to shuffle home alone in this brutal storm. The cold water seeped into her clothes, a deep chilling cold settled into her bones.

Her nose dripped with water, the rain made it impossible to see two feet in front of her. She pushed her wet hair from her face to stop it from obscuring her view. She couldn't stop the uncontrollable shaking that had possessed her body.

She stopped moving, turning her upper body, she peered into the darkness. Her vision was already obscured by the rain and her hair.

She didn't see anything, but she felt as though she was being watched. The feeling was…

…unsettling.

She sped up, feeling nervous about the sensation of someone following her. She slipped a little in the water; she thrusts her hands out to steady herself from falling. She could distinctly hear the splashing over water behind her.

She turned. She saw nothing.

But she was certain that she had heard something.

Now, she was scared.

She started to jog lightly, careful of the puddles of water and the slippery ground.

Apparently she wasn't careful enough.

She tripped over her own feet, crashing to the ground. She threw her hands out to protect herself from the worst of the fall, scraping her palms along the pavement.

She cried out in pain, her heart beating rapidly, her breath short. She had never felt so scared in her entire life. The urge to cry was brought to the surface.

Slowly, she got up, wiping her face with the back of her hand as a sob escaped her mouth. She couldn't believe that she was so scared for basically no reason. There wasn't anyone out here. Her mind was just getting to her.

A crazed and strangled laughed escaped along with another sob.

She continued her journey, wiping the tears and rain from her face.

She turned the corner and slipped in a puddle, landing hard on the ground. Pain reverberated up from her butt to the back. She groaned, her hands traveled down to the ground, one on her butt, the other on the sticky wet pavement.

Wait. Why was the ground sticky?

She lifted her hand and looked in horror when she discovered that it was covered in watery blood.

She began to breathe rapidly, her heart thundering in her chest. She looked up and around for anything that would be able to harm her. There was a sound behind her.

It sounded like gnashing teeth followed by an odd shrill ringing.

She franticly looked around for the source of the noise. She crawled onto her knees, soaking them in the unknown blood, and got up. She began to run, looking all around her, her wet hair wiping back and forth, smacking her in the face.

The sound of gnashing teeth followed the shrill ringing came closer. She cried out, running faster, her feet pounding against the wet ground.

She rounded a corner and let loose a blood curdling scream as she saw a 90 ft. skeleton with glowing blue eyes and blood stained teeth. It held half of a human woman carcass woman in its bony fingers. Her entrails hung out of her body blood pouring from the body in an unnatural stream.

She turned and ran as fast as her legs could carry her, screaming for help.

There was a shrill scream behind her, the ground shook as the monster moved behind her.

She felt a vibration in her pocket. It was her phone.

Running, she saw an darkened building. She ran towards it, praying that the beast couldn't see very well and that she could hide there until help came.

Once she made it safely inside the building, she leaned against the wall, tears streaming at a constant pace. She prayed vehemently to Kami that she would make it out of here alive.

Her phone was still ringing.

Fumbling with shaking clumsy fingers, she answered her phone.

"What's happening?" a gruff voice said on the other line. She nearly busted into tears.

"There's this monster, it's a skeleton...he's after me!" she cried into the phone. She heard the voice on the other line mutter a string a curses.

"Is he a large skeleton or is it a giant one?"

"It's a giant one, please, please, please! Come and save me!" she cried out, her sobs shook her entire body.

"Alright, listen, help will be there soon, okay? Don't worry." She wanted to cry with relief. He sounded so sure and confident.

"Thank you, thank you. Oh. I see someone. Is she with you?"

"What are you talking about-"

"Hello? Are you with the man on-she has no face?" she began to sound uncertain and terrified.

"Listen, don't go-"the roof of the building was torn off. The woman screamed.

She scrambled to leave the building, but for something so big, it moved with an incredible speed.

Its bony arm quickly stretched out and grabbed her.

She struggled and fought screaming as loud as humanly possible for help.

Her cries were quickly silenced as the beast ripped her head from her body like a piece of bread and drank her blood as if she was a bottle of water.

oOo

* * *

Ichigo stormed into his house and slammed the door. He didn't bother taking off his shoes as he punched the wall, leaving a gaping hole the size of his fist.

He roared as he punched the wall again. And again, and again.

He was too late.

That woman died because he wasn't fast enough.

The beast that killed her was Gashadokuro. Created from the skeletal remains of starving victims, it drained her of her blood. Her and two other women that he didn't know.

He knew her.

That was Mizuho Asano. One of his closest friend's sister.

Because of his incompetence, he was unable to save his best friend's sister. How would he be able to face him knowing that he couldn't do what was expected of him.

To make matters worsts, by the time he made it there, the monster had vanish, so he wasn't even able to avenge her death.

He felt so fucking stupid!

He was too fucking late to save her!

He made it to the living room and flipped the coffee table over. He took off his sword and threw it across the room.

"AURGH!" he screamed as he lifted a vase from a shelf and threw it against the wall.

He was breathing heavily, and turned for another vase.

Surprised, anguished brown eyes met sad grey ones.

She moved to him and wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly. He was shocked and stalled. He didn't want to be comforted. He didn't deserve to be comforted. He failed. He failed his friend, he failed her.

He tried to dislocate her from him, but she held onto him tighter, shaking her head, burying her face into his chest.

He couldn't find the strength to try and push her off a second time. He just let his arms wrap around her and took the comfort that she gave him. His heart wept in great heaves although his eyes stayed dry.

"…what are you doing here?" he asked after long minutes of silence.

"You needed me," she answered simply.

"What about your coven?" he asked, feeling the calmness that came with her presence settling within him.

"As soon as I heard you calling out to me, I came. It is understood amongst all of my sisters that the duty to the heart comes before our duty to our coven. None of them will penalize me for coming to you. Rangiku-chan would have left if she sensed Ichimaru-san's pain. Yoruichi-chan would have left if she felt Urahara-sama was in danger." She replied into his chest.

He rubbed her back, caressing the silky softness of her hair. He rested his chin on the top of her head.

"Thank you."


	3. The Sixth Sense

**This is short chapter that I had circulating through my brain. So I hope y'all enjoy this. **

**To: Sacha: I too also think that Ichigo and Orihime are a cute together. Can you imagine what thier children would look like?!**

**To Magdelena 88: Wow...thank you so much. you seriously have no idea how good that review made me feel. So thankyou. **

**As for the rest of you, read, review and enjoy!**

* * *

It was a cold September night. Colder now because of the storm that occurred a few days ago. The moon was only three quarters there; stars were hard to see because of the cloudy skies. It was predicted to be a stormy month. Lots of rain and dark dreary days.

It was also pretty dark. With the moon not being completely full and the stars being hidden by the clouds, it wasn't the ideal night to be loitering in front of a bar. Yet, the young man didn't mind. He had his whisky and he had his jacket.

Yeah there's been many stories on the news about strange murders, like the teacher that was drowned in a toilet. Or those women that were pulled apart and drained of blood. But it wasn't as if any of that stuff happened to him, or anyone he knew.

Weird shit like that didn't happen to him, or to his friends. So he wasn't worried. Not in the least.

He dug into his pocket and pulled out his pack of camels. He opened the beaten box with his thumb, reaching further into his pocket and pulling out a orange lighter.

He placed the cigarette, lit it, and inhaled.

Instantly he was relaxed. The warm, inviting scent of the wrapped around his body, enveloping in a sense of comfort and familiarity. He closed his eyes and leaned back against the building, his mind drifting to the busty strawberry blonde that he saw earlier that week.

She was a sight to see.

He wanted to go to her. To introduce himself and maybe get her number. Maybe share a room with her.

But he didn't. He knew that that was a mistake because she was seriously the single hottest piece of ass that he's ever seen in his entire life.

He inhaled his cigarette deeply, allowing his lungs to fill with smoke and the chemicals to assault his nerves. He released his breath, the smoke danced before his eyes.

He was waiting outside the bar for his best friend to come and meet him. He was supposed to be here 20 minutes ago, not that he was complaining. He didn't like it when he smoked around him anyway, so he was enjoying his smoking break while he had it. But still…

He heard a sound. It sounded like someone was struggling.

He thought about going around the corner to see if it was something that needed his interference, or should he just mind his own business.

He could hear the sound of, what he assumes is a person being thrown against a trash can. The sounds of a woman's groan made him decide that he should go check it out. If it was some ass beating on his girlfriend than he would have to teach him to never lay a hand on a woman.

He took one last drag of his cigarette before flicking it down on the pavement and walking towards the source of the sound.

He rounded the corner and was completely stunned by what he saw.

A woman was pinned up against the wall of the alley, and a man was giving it to her.

Not giving it to her as in, he was beating her.

Giving it to her as in, his pants were around his ankles and he was completely drilling into the woman.

Her dress was up around her waist, and her hair was a complete mess, all over her head. She was mewling softly, one hand covered her mouth, the other clutched his shoulder tightly.

Embarassed, the man turned away from the scene, unable to wipe the smile on his face.

He saw a figure dressed in a brown trench coat and a fedora. He assumed it was his friend.

"Yo, Kira-san, where have you been man, I've been waiting out here for like 20 minutes." He called out to his friend. He didn't take it as odd that he friend didn't speak back because his friend wasn't much of a talker.

However, before he reached his friend, he noticed that the person in the coat wasn't slouching, and long locks of blonde hair weren't peeking out from underneath his hat.

He stopped short a few feet of the stranger.

"Whoa, sorry man, I thought that you were someone else." He ran a hand through his raven hair and reached into his pocket for another cigarette.

The stranger, however, didn't move. He stood in front of the man with the cigarette, causing him to feel some awkwardness and discomfort. He walks away from the man to go and lean against the wall like he was originally, but the strange man stepped in his way.

Frowning, the man stepped back and froze. He was able to get a good look at this jerks face and he saw that the man was extremely pale and that he had no eyes. There were two holes, which he assumed was for his nose, and it seemed that his lips were removed from his mouth, his jagged and rancid teeth and gums being on clear display.

His heart began to beat rapidly and he took a few more steps back.

"What…what the fuck are you?!" he yelled, trying to keep the fear out of his voice.

The monster opened his mouth to release a strangled cry as he shot forward towards the man. His hands outstretched towards the man, a large brown eye ball in the dead center, staring at him.

Shamelessly, the dude let go of a startled yelp as he stumbled backwards, away from the man.

He found his footing, and shifted into a fighting stance.

There was no way that he was letting this fucker attack him without a fight.

The monster lunged for him again, he dodged the man and released a punch directly into the area of what he assumed would be his nose.

The pale man stumbled backwards, his arms flailing wildly.

He punched him again, and again. He uppercut him and round house kicked him in the chest sending him flying backwards and landing on the ground with a thud.

He was proud, his courage returned to him as he walked over to him, prepared to finish the job.

The pale man unnaturally hoped up back on his feet, and he rushed forward to the unsuspecting man, shoving his hand right through the man's chest.

The man stopped, shock filled his quickly dulling eyes as he stared into the grotesque face of the creature that killed him.

The outer edges of his vision darkened as he fell to the hands of the dark oblivion.

In his peripheral vision, he saw a girl with no face, her hair tied in a low ponytail at the base of her neck.

oOo

* * *

Orihime sat next to Ichigo in a black dress that fell to her knees with lace sleeve and a square neckline. Her bright orange hair was done in a tight bun at the base of her neck, a few curly tendrils framed her face and a small black hat sat atop of her head.

Ichigo wore a black suit, with a red tie and a black dress shirt underneath. He tried to slick his spiky orange hair down, but the gel, apparently wasn't strong enough.

She felt his large hand clench tightly around hers as Keigo Asano took to the podium to speak about his deceased sister.

Ichigo clutched her hand so tightly that she was beginning to lose all sensation in that hand, but she didn't say anything.

She knew that he couldn't cry. Never in all of the years that she's known him have she seen him cry.

But she knew that this was tearing him apart. She knew that he felt that he was worthless because Keigo's sister was deceased because he didn't make in time enough to save her. She knew that he felt guilty and that her death was his fault. But it wasn't.

It was terrible that she died. It was terrible that the Gashadokuro was able to find the girl and devour her. But it wasn't his fault. She wished that she could make him understand that he can't save everyone. She wished that she could take his pain away. She didn't want him to hurt anymore. She wanted him to be better, to feel better.

When the service was over, Orihime tried to get Ichigo to go talk to Keigo, but he refused, saying that he was tired and just wanted to go to sleep.

That was hours ago. Now, their fighting a Tenome and he's basically being a zombie, going through the motions of fighting.

She's trying to heal the latest victim of the Tenome, but it's hard due to the fact that her hand was still hurting pretty badly. She was fairly certain that he crushed a few bones. She would have to go to the hospital soon or she would have some serious damage.

The problem with her healing abilities is that she is unable to heal herself. She had to wait and heal just like everyone else.

She winced slightly as a sharp pain sliced through her hand. She heard the grunts and frustrated breaths of Ichigo as he fought the Tenome.

The woman's eyes fluttered open, as the hole in her chest finished sealing. If she had been here a bit later, the woman would have been a lost cause. She couldn't heal someone who's been dead for longer than nine minutes. Their soul are normally gone by then or far too corrupted to be saved anyway.

This woman was approaching the nine minute mark when she made it to her.

She finished healing the woman around the same time that Ichigo finished off the Tenome. He was breathing heavily, continuing to beat into the ground where the yokai has long died. She rushed over to him to stop him before he hurt himself.

She grabbed his fist before he slammed it into the ground. Her own hand screamed out in pain but she ignored it, searching his aura for signs of his inner demon leaking lose. He hadn't. but his aura was so clouded and cluttered with guilt and grief.

He shook her off and stood up, walking away from her.

She bit back her hurt, and shook it off, chalking it up to his depression.

"Ichigo-kun, we need to talk. You need to talk to me about what you're feeling." She pleaded with him.

"Let it go," he said, not looking at her, still walking away from her.

"Ichigo-kun, please. We should talk about what you're feeling. It's not healthy to keep it all inside."

"I said let it go," he said growling. She stopped walking, frightened. This wasn't right. He needed to talk to someone. He couldn't continue to be this messed up for long, not in their line of work. It's been three days since she was murdered. He needed help before it seriously affected the way he performed on his missions.

She jogged to catch up to him, determined to make him see to reason.

"Ichigo-kun, please. If you don't want to talk to me then talk to Urahara-san, or Abarai-kun. Please, just talk to someone-"

"Goddamnit, Orihime I said to just fucking let it go!" she reached him and grabbed his arm gently.

"But Ichigo-"

"FUCK!" he ripped his arm from her causing her to fall on her butt. He turned to face her, fire burning brightly in brown eyes. "I said fucking let it go! What the fuck is the matter with you?! I don't feel like talking about it! Leave me alone already!" he snarled at her.

"Ichigo, you're aura-"

"Fuck my aura. I don't give a shit about it. All I want is to be left alone, but you don't seem to understand that! I'm fine okay! I'm fine!" with that he turned and left her.

Her bottom lip trembled. She bit it to hold back her tears. She cradled her injured hand to her chest.

"Don't worry, he's just angry with himself, not you. He'll come to terms with what happened on his own," she assured herself quietly. Big fat tears rolled down her face as her heart began to water. "He's just in pain…he'll be fine tomorrow," her voice broke. She covered her mouth to silence her sob and moved to sit on her knees.

She couldn't help it. As much as she tried to reason with herself as to why Ichigo behaved like he did, she couldn't stop the sobs the wreaked through her body.

She loved him, why wouldn't he talk to her? All she wanted was for him to feel better. To not burden his guilt and his pain in.

But dear Kami, why did it have to hurt so much, what he said to her? Why did she feel as though her heart was stabbed with a lead tipped sword?

Amazingly, she heard a sound behind her over her sobs. She turned her head.

A girl with no face and a low pony tail stood behind her.

oOo

* * *

Ichigo stormed off from Orihime, his anger making him irrational and mean. He saw how what he said affected and he knew that she was only trying to help because she was concerned for him, but…he actually couldn't pull himself out of this funk. No matter what he did, he was unable to relieve himself of this feeling of being worthless and helpless.

"Hey," a voice said from above him. He looked up, anger seeping from him.

"Listen Rukia-chan, I'm not in the mood to talk to anyone, so just go away." He said, deflated.

"Oh, so you remember my name finally. I should be happy. But what's up with your aura man, it's digusting and it going off in all different directions. I'm surprised that you haven't attracted any yokai." She said, jumping down from the building that she was residing and landing softly besides him.

"Didn't I just tell you that I wasn't in any mood to be bothered?!"

"Yeah I heard you, but you're what I consider a friend," she said staring into his caramel brown eyes and laying a hand on his arm. "Listen, that girl was Renji's friend too and I understand that you feel like you were unable to save her. But flying off the handle and sulking in your own failure will do nothing to change what has happened. The only thing you can do is focus on the future and make sure that it doesn't happen again. "

Ichigo wanted to brush her off, and tell her to scram, but he couldn't help but let her words seep in. Yeah it was his fault that Keigo's sister died. But sitting around sulking wasn't going to change that.

"How is it….that I wasn't able to see that before?" he wondered out loud to himself.

"Because all that bleach, you damaged your brain cells," she joked, reaching to tug on his hair. He leaned out of her reach; a soft smile graced his features.

Suddenly, his smile left his face, now that he was thinking clearly, he could remember how much of a bastard to Orihime. He felt sick as he clearly remembers the unshed tears that threaten to spill. How he shook her off of him and she fell, clutching her hand. Her hand! Was it hurt? Did she get hurt during the mission today?! He was so caught up in himself that he forgotten all about her!

"Ichigo-kun…is everything alright?"

He'd left her thirty minutes ago. She should be home…

…right?

His heart began to pound. Something wasn't right. He could tell that something was wrong. It felt as though…someone was calling out to him. His heart contracted in pain, but it was foreign, as if it didn't belong to him.

Orihime was in danger.

* * *

**Questions, Comments, and/or Concerns?**


	4. The Tell-Tale Heart

**This was actually supposed to be uploaded a lot sooner than now, but my computer decided to be a douche so...**

**well, atleast it's hear now. **

**To sacha: Thanks, I'm glad that you liked it. I hope you like this chapter just as much. I will update as often as I can. **

**To Magdalena88: This chapter have a monster, but the next one wont. I promise. **

**To the rest of you: Please read, review and enjoy!:**

* * *

_7 Years ago…_

_Orihime uncomfortably rode the express train to Tokyo. Honestly? She hated riding the train on weekdays. It was always full to the brim with passengers and she would always be grouped by the men on the train. _

_She would ask them to stop and try to move away, but with being sardined packed into the small can, she would be forced to endure it. _

_Today was no different. _

_So guy, possibly over 40, had her pinned to the rail, groping her body. _

_He was balding and scrawny, wore thick black glasses, and had greasy facial hair. She could read that he was a salesman; he made barely decent pay, had two daughters and was recently divorced. He paid for sex, and ogling young girls was his favorite pastime. _

_She didn't want to delve further into his past because already that little bit that was on the surface made her feel slimy and greasy. _

_His disgusting hands rubbed her butt in slow, methodical strokes. She was grateful that she wore jeans. But as a rule, she always wore jeans on the train because of stuff like this. _

_She closed her eyes as she tried to scoot forward, away from the man, but she was pressed against a haggard looking woman who gave her a death glare. _

"_Gomenasai," she apologized, and stepped back into the slimy man's grimy hands. _

_He squeezed her butt and she jumped a bit. _

"_Please sir, do not touch me." She said, barely above a whisper. He heard her clearly enough though. _

"_Sorry sweetheart," he said, leaning down so that his breath touched her. "But it's not me, it's the train." She could practically see the toothy smile on his face. He removed his hands from her butt and placed them on either side of her, holding on to the pole, right underneath her own hands, dangerously close to her breasts. _

_From the moment that she was born, her brother always drilled into her to never, ever use her powers to harm humans. Not even a little bit. It was because she had an irrovacable amount of respect to her brother and it was his dying request that she doesn't use her powers against humans that she didn't hurt this man behind her. _

_The train ground to a slow halt, she prayed that it was this man's stop. _

_It wasn't. _

_Her heart pounded painfully in her chest. _

_He pressed up against her to let the passengers on and off the train. His thumbs brushed up against the material of her shirt where her breasts lie. She felt him subtly rubbed his mid-section against her butt. _

_She could feel tears form in the corner of her eyes. It was obvious that this man was planning to dry hump her until he either got off…_

_Or until her got…off…_

_The train started moving. His thumbs pressed harder into her breasts, she could feel his erection on her butt as he slowly moved against her in time with the jerky movements of the train. _

_A tear escaped eye, as he continued to subtly dry hump her on the train. _

_She felt utterly disgusted with herself. _

_A dark, angry aura surrounded her. The pervert behind her halted his sexual assault. _

_She felt him go rigid and she heard the sound of bone snap, crackle and popping behind her. Everyone looked above her towards the source that was her savior. _

_Or so she hoped. _

_The train stop and a dark voice spoke behind her. _

"_If any of you valued your lives, you'll get off this cart. Now." _

_Sure enough, the cart emptied quickly. The people practically ran over each other to escape the dark aura. _

_The pervert was ripped from the pole and Orihime was able to turn to face her savior. _

_Much to her surprised it was the boy from her class, Kurosaki-san. She always had a small crush on him. He was quiet, he kept to himself. He always hung around a Abarai-san, a boy with long bright red hair that he normally kept in a ponytail. _

_Much of the class was afraid of him, it was rumored that he was a demon and that he fought purely for blood sport. _

_She always wondered if those rumors about him were true. To her, he always seemed…_

…_interesting. Her heart always beat erratically whenever he was in the near vicinity. _

_But now, he wasn't looking at her, he was…_

_Wow, he was beating the crap out of the pervert as she stood there daydreaming! _

_He had the man on the ground. Kurosaki-san was knelling, reeling his fist back as he drove it repeatedly into the bloodied face. _

"_um…Kurosaki-san…" she said meekly. _

_He couldn't hear her over the sound of his own grunts. _

"_Kurosaki-san…" she says a bit louder. He turns to her, his eyes a dark amber which is different from his usual chocolate brown. _

_A snarl escapes from his mouth; he turns back to the pervert and continues to wail on him. _

_She touches his shoulder and dark energies flows into her, filling her up with an evil possession. _

_Her grey eyes flashes white, as bright light engulfs her and fills the cart. _

_It's over as quickly as it has started. When she regains herself, she notices that she's fallen backwards on her butt. She mutters a curse, and quickly places her hands over her mouth. _

_Strange. She doesn't normally uses foul language. _

_She looks to Kurosaki-san and sees that he looks a bit dazed and confused. _

"_Kurosaki-san…are you alright?" she asks hesitantly. His eyes focus on her as if he's seeing her for the first time, slowly he nods. _

_She gets on all fours and crawls over to the pervert. She hovers her hands over him; she calls forth her healing powers as she begins to revives the man. _

"_What are you doing?" Kurosaki-san asks, dubious of her intent. He sees the perverts wounds heal and he becomes incredulous. _

"_Are you healing this sick bastard?! After what he's done to you?!" _

_She winced at his accusatory tone. _

"_Not…necessarily…see…you kind of…killed him. I was just reviving him enough so that he wouldn't die and you wouldn't get in trouble for …you know…murder…" she skirted around the issue. Honestly, she would have healed the man until he was completely better, but she didn't want Kurosaki-san to think that she wasn't grateful for him saving her. _

"_Thank you…Kurosaki-san…for saving me. Thank you." A tear escaped her eye. And soon, more followed. _

_She halted her healing and pressed her palms into her eyes, to halt her tears, but she couldn't seem to stop. _

_She was so scared and so hurt. She was so tired of being molested whenever she rode the train alone, it was nice for it not to happen for once in her life. She was so grateful she just couldn't stop crying. _

_Ichigo watched the bright haired girl cry. He felt uncomfortable by her tears. He didn't know how to stop them. He wasn't expecting this today. _

_He was supposed to go to Tokyo to pick up some medical supplies for his father, he gets on the train and he sees this pervert molesting a girl in front of everyone in broad daylight. _

_He felt himself lose control and his inner demon taking over as he beat the pervert into submission…_

…_or actually death, seeing as how she had to revive him. _

_But he wasn't expecting her to cry. He didn't know what to do about her crying. So he just sat there, watching her cry. _

_She stopped before they reached the next stop, smiling through her tears. _

_She had a really beautiful smile. It was infectious and bright. It lit up the entire area. _

"_Sorry I was blubbering like a baby," she sniffled smiling. "I must seem like such a mess."_

"_No, not really. Um…I think I have a…tissue in my pocket…" he dug into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled packet of Kleenexes. _

"_Thank you," she grabbed the tissues with a delicate hand and wiped her face. _

_They just sat there staring at each other. Suddenly she thrusts out her hand in front of her. _

"_Inoue Orihime," she said happily. He looked at her small hand before gripping it with his larger one. _

"_Kurosaki, Ichigo," she smiled brighter. _

"_It's nice meeting you Kurosaki-san." _

oOo

* * *

Orihime stared at the faceless girl as she stood down the street. It was obvious that she wasn't human. But whether or not she was an evil spirit or not, she wasn't sure.

She casted her powers forward to feel the aura of the being to see if she was evil or not.

An unseen force blasted her back. She flew a few feet in the air and skidded hard on the ground. She bit back a scream as her hand sharply, and loudly protested from the impact.

With unnatural speed, the faceless girl sped towards Orihime. She rolled over and threw up a shield to block any attack that she might have.

However, the strange spirit didn't attack. It just stared at her with an eyeless stare.

"Who are you? What do you want?" The faceless woman said nothing. She just lifted a slender finger and pointed at Orihime. Or rather her heart.

Orihime stood on shaky legs, her breathing uneven as she gathered energy and the energy from her surroundings.

"Didn't you know that when you point one finger, you have three more pointing back at you?" her power surrounded her, lifting from the ground, she pointed three fingers at the faceless woman and spoke a curse;

"Eieci te ab hoc terrena dimensionem retro ad profundum inferni !"

Orihime's hairpins glowed brightly along with her grey eyes, her hair whipped about her face.

A blue fire consumed the spirit, engulfing it in her spell, and it was gone. Banished to the dimensions of hell.

Orihime was drained.

That was a level 8 spell, banishing someone to hell. It was hard enough to do it with a coven of witches. So doing it by one's self was no easy feat. If she hadn't left her coven early that week, she would have had enough energy to at least get home and perform a circle. Usually in her coven, they pray to their mother so that she could replenish their strength and bless them.

She was unable to do that, so now she was stuck with barely enough energy to move.

She fell to the ground with a hard thud. Between riving that woman earlier and that spell, she was exhausted. She needed rest. She needed to replenish her energy.

She focused her energy and tried calling out to Ichigo. He had shut his heart to her earlier so she wasn't sure if he would hear her.

"Orihime!"

She opens her eyes, unaware that she had closed them. She looked around and saw him running to her, a worried look on his face. Her heart soared when she saw him running to her. she could clearly see his aura, it was no longer muddled. It showed worry and love, but no longer did anger and guilt color his emotions.

Like always her heat pounded loudly when he was near, it hasn't changed not once since high school.

He made it to her, and pulled her into his arms, she allowed herself to melt into him.

"Orihime, Kami, I'm so sorry. Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He looked all over her for signs of damage. He went to her injured hand and held it gently in his own large hands. "This is hurt," he mummers, placing a light kiss on it.

Sleepily, she shook her head.

"No, I'm just really…tired. I'm pretty drained; I don't have the energy to move my legs."

He scoped her up, one arm bracing her back, the other under her knees, and held her close to his chest.

"Hime…I'm really sorry…for earlier…I was being a jackass-"

"Ssshhhh," she lifted a weak finger to his lips. "I need positive energy right now…" she closed her eyes and slumps against his chest.

"I can perform a circle and help her regain her energy faster if you would like," Rukia offered. He hadn't noticed that she had followed.

He nodded and made his way to their home, his heart beating in tune with hers.

* * *

**Comments, questions and/or concerns?**


	5. Uninvited

**Hey, Here's a super long chapter for you. Now, I'm really uncertain about this chapter so if it seems awkward or weird then I'm very sorry. I guess you can use this as a filler chapter or light chapter becasue from here on out, things will become darker. **

**To Sacha: Thankyou. I really appreicate the fact that you like it thus far. Please contiune with your support. And although this chapter isn't very interesting, the next one will be more so, I promise.**

**To the rest of you, please read, review and enjoy**

* * *

It's been a week since the incident. Ichigo was over his guilt of not being able to save Keigo's sister, Orihime regained her energy, and her hand was almost as good as new, thanks to her sister's prayers and Ichigo's father.

He had also apologized for his behavior and how he treated her when all she wanted was for his soul to be at peace.

She had forgiven him instantly.

He also apologized for crushing her hand, but she shook it off, saying that it didn't hurt nearly as bad as it looked.

She was obviously lying, but he was just so grateful that she wasn't angry with him that he had let it slide.

However, he was now alone in their 4 bedroom home while she was out with her coven at some club.

Yes. That is right.

She went to a club. Without him.

To be fair, it wasn't really her fault. It was Rangiku's.

He really did not like that woman.

* * *

"_I just don't see why I can't come with you. You're going to a club not you're coven gathering, doesn't it only make sense that I come with you?" he reasoned, trying to convince her to let him tag along. _

_She tilted her head and bit her lower lip as she contemplated his rationalizations. He could practically see the gears turning in her mind as she slowly conceded to his argument. _

_He desperately wanted her to say yes. The fact that she was going to a dark, most likely crowded club, in her short red halter dress that fell quiet a distance above her knees and her lips painted a seductive red where perverts would ogle her without the fear of him killing them was far beyond what he could handle. _

"_I guess-"_

"_No, no, no, no!" Rangiku suddenly appeared in their room, wearing a short black dress with thin straps that precariously contained her massive bust. _

"_What the hell?" Ichigo muttered. _

"_No Ichigo-kun, you cannot come with us. This is strictly a girls night out only. No boyfriends allowed!" she said firmly. _

_He held back a flash of irritation. _

"_But she's my fiancée! If she wants me to come than I should be able to!" he growled at her. _

"_Ichigo, you are not, under any circumstances to come with us." She said firmly, placing balled fists on her thick hips, her blue eyes fierce._

_Orihime, in the meantime, sat at her vanity, applying her blush and sparkly eye shadow. She ignored the fight going on behind her back. It was always like this with Rangiku and Ichigo. _

_Actually, it was always like this with anyone and Ichigo. It was just something about people that rubbed him the wrong way. After a few years, she's has gotten use to his…_

_Well, she couldn't exactly find the word that described his tendency to fight with others, but whatever it was she has gotten used to it. _

"_Sequitur quod non sit hic nocte dilectum!" _

_The room flashed briefly and Ichigo was flown backwards to the wall. _

"_Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime gasped, rushing to his side. "Onee-chan, you shouldn't have casted that incantation with so much force," she gently scolded her coven sister as she touched his forehead. He groaned softly. _

"_Oh please," Rangiku scoffed, tossing her long locks over her shoulder. "He totally deserved it. Now come on, our sisters are waiting." _

_Orihime looked once more to her love, placed a light kiss on his forehead and left with her sister._

* * *

Which is why he is at home, by himself, unable to follow them because of that stupid spell that Rangiku has placed on him.

First chance he gets, he would through water on her.

Not because she would melt, as the movies would lead one to believe, but because Rangiku takes great pride in how she looks and presents herself, and he knows for a fact that she spends hours in the morning to get ready. (In college, Orihime shared an apartment with her and Ichigo would constantly sleep over) So throwing water on her would ruins hours of her hard work in an instant.

So, he was stuck on at home by himself, on a Saturday night.

There was a knock on his door.

He considered not answering it.

"Ichigo-kun, I know you're in there. So get your ass up and answer the damn door before I kick it down." Renji threaten.

Ichigo groaned internally as he got off the couch to open the door.

"If you break my door, I would be forced to break something on you in reparation."

There stood Renji, Ikkaku and Yumichika, all dressed up as if they were going out.

"What the hell is this?" Ichigo questioned, mildly uneasy.

"We're going out, there's this new club that opened up on 44th. We're going to check it out." Renji explained.

"No."

"Why the hell not?" Ikkaku demanded.

"I don't like hanging out with you douche bags, that's why."

"Well, you don't have a choice, because we're kidnapping you. Get 'em!"

All three boys pounced on him, pinning his arms behind his back and hiking his legs in the air. He tried to fight with all of his power, but he was no match for the three of them, and they soon overpowered him.

They tossed him in the back seat of Renji's SUV, a slew of curses left him.

"You fucking, shitheads! What the hell is wrong with you?!" he yelled.

"Shut the fuck up and put these on," Renji said, tossing some clothes back to Ichigo.

"What the hell?" he said, lifting the black t-shirt and jeans.

"Well, obviously you can't get inside the club dressed like that," Yumichika snorted as he entered the truck.

"Yeah, V.P of graphic media Inc. is probably not on the dress code," Ikkaku commented sliding in next to Ichigo.

Ichigo ignored, deciding to just give in and put on the clothes.

"Seriously, how do you stand that job? I couldn't imagine being stuck in a cubicle all day, going over papers and staring at a computer screen." Renji shuddered, imagining Ichigo's job.

"What is it do you think I do?" Ichigo muffled voice inquired. Renji shrugged, not taking his eyes off the road. "I'm not in a cubicle, I'm in a office. Most of the time, those freaks just want to sit at a table and discuss programing and games and other shit like that. I really hate that place."

Yumichika chuckled.

"Then why did the Organization assign you that job if you hate it so much? Can't you just ask for a different one?"

"I tried, but Gramps denied my requests, saying that I should learn people skills and how to respect others. Besides, those freaks won't let me quit even if I could. I'm starting to think that they are obsessed with me or something." He shuddered, thinking of how whenever he would be at the office, how they would always find excuses to talk to him.

He was highly suspicious that half of the meetings that are called are just to have him leave his office so that they can pester him.

"Well, tonight you can forget all about that, because we're here," Renji exclaimed proudly as he pulled up to an crowded parking lot.

"Now lets get in some trouble."

oOo

* * *

Rangiku was having the night of her life. She was out her girls, dancing and flirting with the various men that came her way, scoring free drinks for her and all her friends.

She had to deflect the attention the guys were giving Orihime to herself, because her sister was too nice to tell them to shove off and because she knew that Ichigo wouldn't appreciate someone groping his fiancée.

Anyone who knew the guy was well aware of how insanely possessive he is of the girl. It was ridiculous, but she understood.

Like her, Orihime was well endowed with a figure that would put the coke bottle business to shame. However, unlike her, Orihime didn't know when to tell a guy to shove his hand up his ass because she was too soft hearted and timid.

But even then, telling a guy to shove his hand up his ass didn't always work. Some were just too damn persistent.

Like the guy who was quickly approaching her shit list currently.

His little gestures, and touches was becoming more than Rangiku could bear to stand.

It was bad enough that his black hair was slicked back, and he wore a cheesy black and red suit, the first few buttons of his shirt opened to reveal a hairless, totally fake tan chest. He wore several rings on his fingers, gaudy necklaces and sun glasses. The only thing the guy was missing was a toothpick.

The worst thing about him? The fact that he's been quoting movie titles all throughout the conversation.

"Seriously babe, maybe you and I could blow this joint and head back to my place to have a more…intimate conversation?" he lifted a dark, bushy brow in question.

She rolled her eyes internally and held back a sigh as she forced a fake, flirtatious smile on her face.

"You know what? I was just thinking the same thing, how about you wait here while I go freshen up in the ladies room, if you'll just excuse me," she hopped down from her bar stool and headed towards her sisters. She was so over that scene. Now, she just wanted to hang with her girls.

Rukia and Orihime were on the dance floor, capturing the attention of every male on the floor, Momo and Yachiru sat at the table with their drinks. She decided to join them at the table.

"Hey, what's going on girls?"

"Boobie-chan! You have got to try this, it's the most delicious drink ever!" exclaim Yachiru. Rangiku wondered briefly as to whether or not giving Yachiru a drink was the best thing to do. Although she looked like a child…well, she actually was a child, she just sometimes seemed like an adult…well not too often though…Hell! She wasn't going to think on the consequences of her actions tonight. They had already put a glamor on the girl to make it seem as though she was over 21, it was too late to change that ship's course anyway.

She took the glass away from the pink haired girl and took a deep gulp.

"Hey! Don't drink it all!"

"Oh, that is good. What is it?"

"Gone now, thanks to you," Yachiru grumbled.

"I think that that was a fuzzy navel, or something of that extent," Momo quietly interjected.

"Hey baby, I thought you were going to be right back," the sleazy man came up behind Rangiku, pressing himself up against her and rubbing her midsection.

She elbowed him hard in the chest and turned around.

"Get your hands off me you creep." She spat at him.

"What the fuck?!" he exclaimed. "You were all over me at the bar." She sighed.

"Let me spell it out to you because obviously you didn't get the memo earlier. Jeez, how can I say this in a way you would understand? I'm just not that into you." She turns back to face her sisters, a exasperated look on her face.

"Oi! Don't act like this now that you're in front of your girlfriends. Come on, we're going back to my place." He grabbed her shoulder roughly, anger mixed with annoyance flared through her.

"I said shove off," she yanked her shoulder from his grip and pushed him off her.

He landed on his ass; his glassed flew off his face. His eyes held anger as he got back on his feet, stomping to her.

"Listen, no bitch is going to blow me off, unless she's on her knees, so let's go now, and maybe I'll go easy on you," he gripped her arm tightly, pulling her to him.

"Hey, let go of her!" Yachiru and Momo said in unison, standing up.

"Mind your own damn business. Come on, you played easy earlier, don't get cold feet when it's Showtime." He urged her.

She slapped him hard across the face; her handprint marred the side of his face.

"Now you're in for it," he reeled back his balled fist, he tried to unleash it on her but it was caught by a hard, unyielding force.

"I would reconsider that course of action if I was you," a dark voice said behind him. The man struggled to move his hand. He couldn't.

He looked behind him and saw dark brown eyes glaring at him, subtle murderous intent were held in the brown orbs.

"Yo man, let me go!" he struggled. This maniac was crushing his hand. Literally.

"Apologize to her."

"Fuck! Why?!"

In an action that was too quick to follow, the sleazy guy was suddenly pinned to the table, his arm behind him in a very uncomfortable angle.

"JESUS! ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT! I'M SORRY! SHIT! I'M SORRY!" he cried out. "I didn't know she was taken! Honest I swear!"

"She isn't mines. No, no, no. If she was my girlfriend, you'd be dead by now."

"Your sister than whatever!" he could feel his arm beginning to snap.

"If she was one of my sisters, even your dental records wouldn't have been able to discern your remains. Lucky for you, she's just a very annoying person that I know. So I'll only break one of your arms."

"What the-HOLY FUCKING HELL! AHHH! AIIIEEE! FUCKING CHRIST-"

oOo

* * *

"This is exactly why you weren't allowed to come with us to the club," Rangiku sighed as they walked down the street. "Every time, every single time, we get kicked out and banned for life." She huffed annoyed.

"Well forgive me for defending you, I'll make sure to never do that again." He muttered under his breath, his arm wrapped possessively around Orihime as she chatted happily with Rukia.

"It's not that I'm not grateful Ichigo-kun. Honestly, I am. And I'm not saying that the bastard didn't deserve it. But did you really have to break the arms of the bouncers and security guards as well?"

"Hey! They grabbed me like I was the bad guy!"

"They were only doing their job. If a fight breaks out in the club, they have to clean up the mess. Honestly, it's like you have no idea how to behave around people," she huffed, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

"Hey, I thought it was pretty cool the way Icchi-kun bent his arm until it snapped!" Yachiru giggled as she hung on Momo's shoulders.

"Well, at least someone appreciates me." He grumbled.

"Oh please, just look who her father is. Gore, blood, and guts is what put her to sleep at night. Now its only, 1 at night and we have absolutely nothing to do, because you went and got us kicked out of the only club that would allow us in!"

"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO APOLOGIZE FOR THAT?!"

"AN APOLOGY WON'T DO IT! YOU HAVE TO FIND US ANOTHER CLUB TO GO TO NOW, OR WE'LL ALL SPEND THE NIGHT AT YOU HOUSE!"

A cold fear gripped his heart at the thought of them all sleeping over. It was something he was sure he wouldn't be able to handle.

"That actually sounds like a great idea!" Orihime interjected.

Damn!

"Come on sisters let's do it. I haven't been to a sleepover since college!" she exclaims happily.

Ichigo quickly pulled Orihime aside away from the chatting witches, to speak to her privately.

"Orihime, please, if you loved me at all you wouldn't do this to me," he begged her, his eyes pleading.

Her huge, grey eyes widen in response. Her face that once held happiness, only held concerned, then sadness. He cursed himself, internally.

Dammit! Why did those damn eyes hold so much power over him!

Of course once the thought was in her head, she would become attached to it. It was too late to rip it from her now.

He sighed.

"You know what, never mind. I guess that I'll just stay at Renji's or something." He said, glad that her face lit up again. God he hopes he never has a daughter. If she was anything like her mother, she'll always get her way.

"No you won't. 'Cuz we're staying at your place." Renji said, coming from basically nowhere.

"What the hell?! Why are you guys here and not at the Club?!"

"Because," he said, grabbing a drunken Ikkaku. "This one here got us kicked out for nearly killing one of the patrons of the damned establishment. And besides," his voice dropped to a whisper. "There's a sleepover going on at your house. Now, you didn't see how Orihime and Rukia were dancing before you got them threw out, but if the sleepover is anything like that then we shouldn't miss it."

Ichigo thought, the gears churning in his mind as he thought about how this could possibly turn out. He shook his head vehemently.

"No, that's perverted. And I'll be damned if you losers are going to spy on my girlfriend and her friends." He hissed at them.

"Hey asshole, one of them is my girlfriend too, and if you don't, I'm going to tell Orihime about the time you-"

"Shit! Alright! Alright!" he looked around to see if anyone had heard. The girls were basically in their own world talking about something or another. He didn't know.

"A guy messes up one time in his life and you hold on to it forever." He mutters angrily.

oOo

* * *

The boys are pressed up against the door to the master bedroom, trying to hear as much as they could about what was going on downstairs. Each and every last one of them enforced a considerable amount of restraint from going down stairs. Ichigo grew frustrated.

"This is ridiculous!" he fumed, pulling his ear away from the door. "We're acting like those losers at my job!"

Orihime's muffled gasp brought his ear right back to the door.

"Are you okay?" that sounded like Momo.

"Yeah, I just slipped on something…is this pudding? Yachiru-chan, you must be more careful when eating pudding. It can be very messy."

"Here, let me help you up…whoa-ah!...ouch."

"Oh, are you okay Momo-chan?"

"I think so, sorry, I kind of landed on you,"

"It's okay, maybe between the both of us, we can get up. Hold on to my arms, and I'll hold on to yours."

"Hai,"

"…whoa, this stuff is really slippery."

"Yeah, we're almost up…."

"What are you two doing?" Rangiku voice entered the picture.

"No, Rangiku-chan, don't come over-"

"OUCH!" was her high pitched wail, coupled along with the other girls.

"What the hell is on this floor?!"

"Yachiru spilt pudding."

"It's more like she poured a whole batch on the floor! We're covered in this stuff! Ew! It's in my hair!"

"Why are you guys on the flo-ah! Ow! What is this stuff?!" Rukia shouted.

"Yachiru-chan spilt pudding."

"Rukia-chan, could you move your hand please?"

"Ah! Gomenasai Orihime-chan, I was wondering what was so soft."

"Come on sisters, let's gets out of this mess."

"We can't the floor is too slippery!"

"My legs are covered in this crap! How much pudding did she have?!"

"Maybe we could call her and tell her to bring a towel?"

"YACHIRU-CHAN! COME CLEAN UP THIS MESS!"

"What mess?!" the small, high pitched voice wailed.

"This pudding that you have everywhere!" Rangiku scolded.

"I didn't even have pudding! Whoa!"

"Yachiru-chan! Are you okay?!"

"Yeah, jiggles boobies saved me!"

"Ha ha ha, that's what they're for dear!"

"Rangiku-chan! Please don't hold her like that! You can suffocate her!"

"Momo-chan, help me up please,"

"Hai!"

"….okay….okay….alright…whoa!"

"OUCH!"

"Gomenasai Orihime-chan! Is your stomach okay?"

"…yeah…you just…knocked the wind out of me…"

"Oh no! I think she's fading fast!"

"Get off her stomach Momo-chan."

"Oh...Better?"

"Hai, much better…but the pudding is in my hair now…"

"Better that then between your butt,"

"Hey, I got it in my hair, boobs and butt, so don't complain."

"Well, Rangiku-chan, wearing that nightie, I'm surprised that you don't have it more places."

"What? I'm not showing that much skin."

"Really, she isn't. You should've seen her in college; she barley wore anything to bed."

"Boobbie-chan, Jiggles knew you in college?"

"Can we please reminiscence later? This stuffy is really sticky and I'm starting to feel nauseous."

"Oh, I know what will make you feel better…."

"Ah! No! Hahahahahaha! Rangiku…Please…."

"Oh I want to tickle someone!"

"Gomen Yachiru, I'm not ticklish."

"Drats! Oh, Jiggles!"

"AH! Hahahahahahha!"

"What do you mean you're not ticklish? Everyone's ticklish!"

"Rangiku, what are you doing-hahhahahahahaha-(snort!) Oh no!"

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

"That was a snort, you snorted Rukia-chan!"

"I-I-I did no such thing!"

"Everyone, tickle Rukia-chan until she's snorting like a piggy!"

"No…no..st-stay back! Nooo-hahahhahaahahahaha (snort-snort) ahahaha(snort) please….stop!"

"Ha-Ow!"

"Are you okay Momo-chan?"

"Yeah…my face just hurts…can we please get out of this pudding already?"

"Speaking of which, if Yachiru didn't waste pudding…then who did?"

The boys pressed their ears closer to the door, their faces sweaty, their breathing a bit irregular.

"Wait," Ichigo said, looking at the other men in the room. "Did one of you pour pudding on the floor?"

"Yeah it was me," Renji admitted, a sly grin on his face. "Wasn't it genius?! Man! I would give my left nut to see what happened down there!"

"We have security cameras placed everywhere here. Remember, its standard procedure for the Organization!" Ichigo stated excitedly, his pride in being a decent person long since abandoned him the moment he heard his busty fiancée slip in pudding.

"What the hell are we still doing here!?" Ikkaku exclaimed. The boys moved from the door, and the pulled it opened with great force.

There in front of them stood five, pudding covered, angry witches, their hands, balled in fists on their hips.

The boys swallowed thickly.

The girls all spoke in unison, their voices mixing together in a dark blend of energy.

"Somnus!"

Darkness encased the men as they fell into a deep slumber.

oOo

* * *

Ichigo was upset.

Not because a coven of witches casted a spell on him which put him into a deep sleep for several hours as they dressed him up in various outfits, took pictures of him and made it into a calendar.

He felt that he deserved that. He shouldn't have spied on their slumber party and in all honesty, he felt he gotten off pretty easy. However embarrassing being dressed up as a fireman, Paul Bunion, Life Guard, and an EMT. At least he wasn't dressed as a sexy Santa, like Renji, or a leprechaun like Ikkaku.

No, he was upset because he was at the job that he hated with his very soul. His cover job to hide the fact that he was a yokai hunter.

One, he hated graphic design, he hated the dorks that followed him around; he hated his assistant and her need to please him. He hated everything! And no matter how short, mean, and irritable he is with them, they still followed him around! It was like they were gluttons for punishment!

"Kurosaki-sama, please look over this accounting budget for the next game that we are working on designing," Rikichi, one of the interns that refused to let him be.

Ichigo tried his hardest to contain his anger.

"Please tell me Rikichi, who is the head of accounting?"

"Um…that would be Yadomaru-sama," he answered.

"And what is it that she does?"

"She…uh…she goes over spending, budgeting, and finances and paychecks and stuff like that."

"So tell me, why the fuck do you think that I would give a damn about the damn accounting budget for the fucking game!?" he yelled at the intern that had begun to cower in the corner of Ichigo's spacious office.

He dropped to the floor in a deep bow and apologized profusely.

"Gomenasai Kurosaki-sama! Sumimasenga, Forgive me!"

"Gah! Get the hell out of my office!" he shouted, his patience lost.

Rikichi scrambled up and ran out of his office, bowing profusely before closing the door.

Ichigo released a sigh of frustration and ran his hands through his spiky orange locks.

There was a brief knock on his door before it was slowly opened.

"Ohayou Kurosaki-sama, I have the reports on the test projections that you asked for." His assistant, Loly Aivirrne.

He groans out loud, not bothering to hide his dislike for her.

"Just put it on my desk, and get out."

"Hai, Kurosaki-sama. Is there anything else that I can help you with?" she asked, walking to his desk, her long black ponytails swinging to and fro.

"No. Just leave," she pouted, placing the files on his desk. He buries his face in his hands, trying to squash the headache that has formed the moment he walked into his office.

"Are you sure Kurosaki-sama?" she asked, leaning over his desk and placing her hands on temple.

He batted them away and glared at her.

"The only thing you could do for me now is leave," he growled at her.

A hurt look crossed her face before she stormed out, slamming the door.

He prayed for his beeper to go off, alerting him to the presence of a yokai, or that a natural disaster would come along and he would be forced to leave his job. Anything, he prayed for anything.

There was a knock on his door. He groaned loudly.

"WHAT?!"

"Uh…Kurosaki-sama, there's a meeting in five minutes, it's required that you attend."

He threw his coffee mug at the door; the ceramic glass shattered loudly and flew in various directions. He heard the messenger scramble away from the door.

This had better be a real meeting or someone is going to die. He thought to himself as he pushed away from his desk and lifted himself out of his chair.

He left the security of his office, past his assistant desk.

"Get someone to clean the mess in my office," he said to Loly without interrupting his stride. He scowl was placed firmly on his face, as he made the necessary twists and turns it took for him to make it to the board room.

He opened the door and there stared at him were the many faces of his co-workers.

Some would say that they looked up to him because he was the "coolest" guy they have ever met in their entire lives, which is why when he first started working there, they had enforced a numerous amount of rules that were based off him.

Like, on his first day, he wore a suit at Orihime's insistence. Later that day a memo was sent out that everyone must wear a suit.

Or how when he ate his lunch outside, it became mandatory that all employees much bring a luch from home. It was ridiculous. But no one ever complained about any of these rules. They were all morons in his eyes.

This wasn't high school where you idolized someone and did everything that they did! They were supposed to be past this stage in their life already! And the fact that they chose him to imitate was making this a thousand times worst!

He went to his seat at the head of the conference table because the president of the company happens to be his number one fan and has insisted since day one that he sits there.

"Ichigo-sama, it's great that you can join us!" Hanatarō Yamada, the president of the company, exclaimed happily.

Okay, if there's anyone in the building he could stand, it would be the president. He didn't understand why, but something about the guy just seemed so entirely harmless that getting mad and frustrated at him would be like getting upset with a child.

He nodded at the president and sat in his seat, listening to the presentation being given.

They wanted to change the age demographics in which they would be promoting their games, so that they would have a broader scope in which they are able to appeal to, thus increasing their sales, name, and a whole bunch of other stuff that Ichigo tried his hardest to block out.

"Any ideas on how we can achieve this?" the presenter asked, looking directly at Ichigo. They all watched him to see what he would say. He resisted the urge the pull his hair by the very roots out of his scalp. These guys…

"You mean besides the obvious?" he said gruffly.

The presenter looked a bit nervous.

"You really mean to tell me that you don't know how to make our games appeal to a younger demographic? So the thought to include brighter colors, simpler themes, or even creating a contract with a popular show, cartoon, toy, or even movie hasn't crossed your mind not once?"

His headache was becoming bigger.

"Well…yeah…it has…crossed…my…mind…"

"I think what Ichigo-sama is saying is that the solution to our problem was so simple that instead of focusing on that aspect you probably should've focused on more answers. " Hanatarō interjected his voice soft and appeasing.

A voice buzzed on the speaker in the conference room.

"Kurosaki-sama, Inoue-san is here to see you," the room was silent for a second before various hands reached for the intercom.

"PLEASE SEND HER TO THE BACK!" One guy yelled as he stretched impossibly to reach the intercom. Ichigo grew irritated.

The one thing he hated most about these guys was how obsessed they were with his fiancée. They were up her ass as much as they were up his, or pre-haps even more so.

He pinned the guy who told them to send her back to them with a death glare. It wasn't quite as effective. Everyone actually feared him less when Orihime was around, because she was the only thing that was able to protect them from him.

"Kurosaki-kun!" his attention was quickly diverted away from the soon to be injured bastard, to the door where his beautiful fiancée came barreling through, wearing white dress that feel just above her knees with a pink cardigan.

He stood to greet her, collecting her in his arms and placing a chaste kiss on her forehead.

"It's too cold for you to not be wearing a jacket," he murmured against her hair, rubbing her back.

"It's not that cold outside," she mumbled against his chest.

She pulled back from him and smiled, he could feel his irritation and headache melt away.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, unable to wipe the smile off his face.

"Today was an early dismissal day, so I thought that I would drop by. If it's a bad time-"

"No! it's never a bad time when you stop by Inoue-san!" said one of the drones that worked there. Ichigo felt his irritation flare. Orihime left his arms, yet slid her hand in his.

She bowed at the waist.

"Arigato, Ogidō-san."

He blushed deeply, looking away.

"Ohayou Inoue-san," Hanatarō greets sheepishly.

"Ohayou Yamada-sama," she bows her greeting in return.

One by one, the men of the office begins to greet her, delighting in the way that she clearly remembers each and every one of their names, something that her fiancée failed to do.

Growing more and more irritated as she greeted every single last idiot, he tightened his grip on her hand and pulled her from the conference room, basically dragging her behind him.

"Wha-! Um, it was nice seeing you all again!" she yelled her farewell as she was pulled out of the room, down the halls, past a glaring Loly and into his office.

He slammed the door shut and locked it.

"Kursosaki-"

He was upon her, devouring her mouth, forcing her to walk backwards until the she met the hard wood of his mahogany desk. She struggled to keep up with his movements as his hands went to her hair, griping it tightly, while the other embedded itself in her hip.

She snaked her arms around his neck, opening her mouth a bit wider. Their tongues met and danced around each, igniting and fueling the passion that in both of them.

He releases a low groan, and lifts her up onto the desk, swiping the papers, pencils and other desk items off onto the floor with a thunderous sound.

She pulled her mouth from his to be able to catch her breath. Ichigo's hot lips found solace elsewhere, like the entire area from her jaw to her chest.

"…Kurosaki-kun…" she said breathless. "I don't think that…we should…uh…be doing this here…a-again?" she phrased it as more of a question than a statement, because whatever he was doing to her neck effectively stalled her train of thought.

If he heard his, he didn't acknowledge it.

She could feel it very clearly in his aura that stopping him now would be impossible. His mind was consumed with lust, and she could feel the physical evidence very clearly against her groin.

His desire for her washed off him in waves; it drowned her and only built her desire. She could feel herself mounting, climbing higher and higher until she wanted this, needed this just as badly as he did.

His mouth descended on hers as if that was if that was the long awaited answer to her question. She moved her mouth in tune with his, the bruising force of his kiss overpowering her.

His hand pushed her dress up past her hips, massaging the skin on her thighs making her coil tightly on the inside.

She moaned into him, her breathing grew more irregular as her hands found his hair and clenched the spiky strands tightly.

He lifted her up easily, as his hands found the waistband of her underwear and he yanked them down to the floor. Her smell quickly filled up the airspace around him, arousing him even further.

He quickly and expertly undoes his pants, until he is no longer confined by the restricting suit.

He grabs her face and pulls her close to him, capturing her in a sweet kiss, before plunging his harden member into her, tight, almost unbearably hot and moist core.

He doesn't bother with being gentle and careful. He pounds into her painfully; knocking the air out of her with each thrust, his grunts barley above whispers while she fights to contain her owns cries of passion. Although, it's probably pretty clear what's going on in this office. It tends to happen every time she visits.

He keeps hammering into her, her poor vaginal cavity taking the delicious abuse, she's almost positive that she will be sore tomorrow, unable to explain to her children why she isn't able to walk correctly.

Little known fact about witches: They tend to orgasm easily, like human males; it takes a strong constitution to be able to delay it. However, when they do orgasm, it tends to be violent and blood tends to be drawn. Like a sacrifice for the release.

Which is why, when Orihime came, various objects in Ichigo's office flew off the shelves, desks and walls, crashing into each other, banging against the wall, the windows cracked, the slightest pressure ready to send the glass shattering, showering over the poor innocents below, overall, causing a huge ruckus and commotion.

Various thick red lines appeared on Ichigo's back, hot blood ran down his back in thick streams, staining his white shirt red.

The pain blindsided him, as it does every time, causing his own release as he spilled thick, ropy stream after stream into her core.

They leaned against each other, their energies both spent. Their heavy pants were the only sounds around them.

A giggle escaped Orihime. She bites her lip to stop it, but it escapes once more.

Ichigo looks at her, one eyebrow lifted in confusion. This wasn't the reaction he was expecting.

Seeing his confused expression just causes her to laugh harder. She didn't know why, she couldn't contain her laughter.

It was infectious. He soon found himself laughing along with her. Bright and cheerful, just laughing, feeling it reached deeper than his abdomen, feeling it reach all the way into his soul.

It was a laugh of pure, unadulterated happiness.

For him, it can only be created by her.

* * *

**Questions, comments and/or concerns?**


	6. Demons Of The Mind

**Here's a short blurb of a chapter. I would have had it up sooner but I dropped my computer, the battery fell out and I didnt save anything...apparently. Sooooo...**

**To Sacha: Ahahaha...well enjoy this chapter!**

**To the rest of you: Read, Review and Enjoy.**

* * *

It was a cool crisp September morning. Despite all the recent deaths of late, everyone seemed to be in a cheerful mood. Maybe it was due to all of the deaths that everyone has decided that life was too short to live it in unhappiness. You never know when your last days were around the corner.

As per usual for a Wednesday morning, the train station was pretty busy. Hundreds of people milled about, brushing against each other, their shoes making light clacking and clunking sounds against the concrete. Papers and trash littered the ground and flew about peoples feet.

Riruka Dokugamine looked around, her entire body exhausted. Although the day was bright and sunny, she felt dark and dreary and dead.

She released a large yawn and was barely able to cover her mouth.

_Teke-teke-teke. _

There was that sound again. Like a bicycle. It kept following her around all through the night, causing her to have a terrible night sleep and to be paranoid throughout the entire morning. It was as if someone was following her and had intent to kill her.

She was nervous. She didn't know why, but she could tell that her life was going to end very soon.

She's been stewing in this fear since last night. She was scared shitless that someone was going to kill her. She knew that it was coming.

Death was coming for her.

_Teke-teke-teke. _

She couldn't wait until she was at work. Although she had to dress like an some little school girl anime character and serve cake and tea to perverts, it was better than this fear that she was currently living in. dealing with rude customers and pervert would at least keep her mind preoccupied so it wouldn't come up with ominous ways to kill her, slowly driving her insane with every breath she took.

_Teke-teke-teke._

Her waist length magenta hair flew about her body, her bangs brushed hard against her face. Her black dress ruffled in the wind, causing her to shiver from the cold.

For a sunny day, it was unnaturally cold.

_Teke-teke-teke._

The sound was closer.

She turns, looking at all of the faces of the people in the train station. Faintly she heard the polite voice overhead announce that her train would be arriving in 5 minutes.

She spots nothing out of the ordinary. Just a few perverts leering at her, dozens, upon dozens business men on their phones, students in uniforms, giggling with their friends, giving kisses to their sweethearts, texting on their phones.

Everyone was in their own happy little bubbles, blissfully unaware of the dangers that lurk around them.

Riruka knew of the dangers. She could feel something death lurking around the corner, waiting for the opportune moment to strike her.

She was going insane. She knew that she was going insane. But hopefully, when she's at work and her mind is busy, she would be able to calm down and rid herself of these frightening thoughts.

_Teke-teke-teke. _

However, all that would be much easier if that damn sound wasn't following her around, seeping into her soul, and completely obliterating her sanity, bit by miniscule bit.

She looks frantically around the train station for the source of the sound. She can't discern it. the more she looks for it the crazier she feels.

She spots a girl looking at her. She's wearing a uniform but she isn't dressed like any of the other students at the station.

She is wearing a white school shirt and red skirt. Her black hair is tied in low ponytail and…

…she has no face!

The girl has no face!

_Teke-teke-teke. Teke-teke-teke _

Riruka takes a few involuntary steps back, her hands reaches to cover her mouth. A silent screams escapes her.

This isn't happening. This isn't happening. Ghosts, monsters, yokai…they aren't real! They aren't real!

_Teke-teke-teke. _

The faceless girl looks at her. she didn't know how she knew, she just knew that the eyes girl eyes were on her.

Everyone moved about the girl as if there was some invisible barrier that repelled them.

The faceless girl looked to the side. Riruka followed her stare and saw a figure slumped on the ground. Covered in blood.

The figure pushed up on her forearms and began to slowly crawl towards Riruka, her lower half of her body missing, a thick trail of blood followed behind her.

Her black, dirty, blood caked hair covered her face. Her arms were covered in filth as well as she used her claw like hands for move herself towards Riruka.

Riruka took a few more steps back, her heart pounding painfully in her chest, tears of anger, frustration and fear welled in her eyes.

She shook her head, her magenta hair flying about her face as she continued to move backwards.

The half woman looked up, blood streamed from her head, eyes, nose and mouth. She opened her blood filled mouth and released a sound.

"TEKE-TEKE-TEKE!" she launched herself to Riruka.

Panicking, she took another step back.

She was weightless for a few moments before her fragile body made a painful connection to the solid ground. Her head felt as though it shattered on the warm, unforgiving concrete. The sharp pain resonated throughout her skull. She was surrounded in darkness for a moment.

She opened her eyes and was blinded by the bright lights of the train before it splattered her blood over the platform.

oOo

* * *

"There has been in influx of supernatural deaths occurring in the past few weeks. What's more, these deaths all seem to be connected to one another."

The screen at the head of the large rectangular table, in the large dark room flashed. A picture of a blood splattered girl with magenta hair appeared.

"Riruka Dokugamine was killed yesterday at the train station. The autopsy would suggest that she was hunted by a Teke-Teke." The screen flashed again.

"Shūhei Hisagi was murdered by a Tenome," the screen flashed again. "Kurotsuchi Mayuri was killed by a vengeful spirit," the screen flashed again. "Mizuho Asano was murdered by a Gashadokuro and so forth." Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto sighed gravely; his thick bushy white eyebrows lowered themselves over his hooded, battle scared face.

"So what do any of these cases have to do with each other?" Ichigo asked.

"Upon further investigation, we have discovered the same energy surrounded each and every one of these cases. We have come to find that a vengeful spirit has left this residue behind," the screen flashed and a faceless girl appeared.

There was a sharp intake of breath from Orihime.

Yamamoto casted her heavy look to Orihime and, with seemingly great effort, lifted a heavy bushy brow.

"Is there something the matter, Inoue-san?" Her eyes widen, and she blushed as the numerous eyes around the table focused on her.

"E-to, I encountered her before, not too long ago."

"What?" Ichigo asked incredulous. He grabbed her hand as his brown eyes stared hard into her grey ones.

"I-it's just that I've encountered her before," she answered. She could feel on the fringes of his aura that some dark energy begin to seep in.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he hissed, tightening his grip on her hand. The energy was becoming more potent.

"Ah! Because it wasn't important at the time," she whimpered lightly. "Ichigo, my hand-"

"What do you mean it wasn't important at the time?! When did it happen?!"

"The day of Asano-san's funeral… Kudasai...Ichigo-kun, you're hurting me."

"Jesus Christ, let go of her damn hand Kurosaki!" Renji yelled from across the table.

She felt the dark energy recede as he released her hand as if it bit him. He looked shocked and disturbed. She cradled her hand, holding it close to her as she searched his eyes.

"Orihime, I-I'm sorry-"

"Can we please get back to the situation at hand instead of their dysfunctional relationship?" Yumichika groaned.

"Yes, I think that would be appropriate, Inoue-san, please continue." She nodded, sparing another worried glance to Ichigo before she spoke.

"Hai, e-to…well, it was after Kurosaki-kun and I battled with a Tenome. I saw her and I tried to feel her out, but it was like she repelled me. It seems as though she was after my heart…I thought that I banished her to the underworld with a level 8 incantation-"

"A level 8? By yourself?" Rukia asked surprised. Orihime nodded. "No wonder you were so exhausted," the other witches around the table nodded.

They were also a part of their coven; however, they didn't socialize outside of the gatherings because they were older and more serious. They have mastered basically everything there is about witchcraft, and they're more of guides than friends.

She could feel the dark energy start to take hold of Ichigo again. She placed her hand on his lap and began to absorb it.

"But apparently, my incantation wasn't strong enough, because she's still loose." She could feel her thoughts begin to become dark. Her soul and heart became infected with ill will and dark energy.

"Well, I guess now we can let the professionals deal with it," Marechiyo Ōmaeda said, leaning back in his chair, digging into his bag of chips.

"Shut your Goddamn mouth you insufferable fat piece of shit, I tried my best!" Orihime spat, slamming her hands on the hard wood of the table, standing.

There was silence all around. Everyone stared at her in complete shock.

"Ah…Gomenasai Ōmaeda-sama!" she apologized bowing.

She ran out of the room, her hand covering her mouth.

Ichigo stood to go after her.

"Sit down, there's no need in both of you missing this meeting." Yamamoto ordered.

Ichigo was torn between going after his obviously troubled fiancée, and listening to Yamamoto.

"Go on Ichigo-kun, I'll fill you in later," Rukia urged him. He nodded his thanks to her and ran out after Orihime.

He let his senses, which seemed to be attuned to her, guide to outside of the building, where she was slumped against the wall, her face buried in her hands.

Ichigo moves to collect her in his arms, but she bats him away.

He looks at her stunned. Her grey eyes are dark, and there's malice in them that was never there before.

She strikes him hard across the face.

She stares at her hand in horror.

"I-Ichigo-kun…Gomenasai…gomenasai…" she breaks down in tears, burying her face in her hands once more.

That dark energy lasted longer this time. She wasn't able to subdue it. It wasn't until after she struck him that she was able to once again grab ahold of her own soul and use her will to banish the dark aura.

It's getting harder and harder to control those dark impulses that come with absorbing Ichigo's dark energy. She was beginning to develop her own inner demons, something much more fearsome than Ichigo's. She could feel her sanity beginning to come apart. And that scared her.

Ichigo, over the shock of her striking him, went to collect her in his arms once more. She let him and crumpled against his chest. Sobs shook her entire frame as she gripped the material of his shirt tightly.

He murmured confident assurances into her hair; however, those were all lies.

He wasn't confident that everything would be alright. He wasn't even sure what was wrong. She wasn't telling him anything.

Whatever she wasn't telling him was obviously hurting her.

He was worried.

* * *

**Questions, Comments and/or Concerns?**

**Up Next: Interview with a Vampire. (Oh yeah, this story has those but not the sissy kind from twilight.)**


	7. Interview with a Vampire

**Here's another chapter. I really should have been writing my HDFS paper instead of this, so be greatful little ones. **

**Read, Review and Enjoy!**

* * *

"So what they've decided is to upgrade the systems, open the Organization to some outside help and give everyone some EMF's so that you can send the residue energy to the labs to sort out the regular paranormal deaths from the noppera-bō." Rukia leaned against the wall of the gym that was provided in the Organization's facility.

Ichigo lied on his back on the seat bench pressing 500 pound bar bells.

He wasn't doing it for strength or muscle building, with his demon powers; he was stronger than 100 men. However, he was doing it for the endurance and discipline.

He also did it to take his mind off a certain orange haired woman who locked herself in their room and has refused to leave.

He lifted the heavy weights in a steady motion, silently counting the reps.

"That's fucking stupid." He grunted, sweat pouring down his face. He's been at this for a while now.

"Hey, whatever works," she shrugs.

"Tell me more about that…"

"Noppera-bō, well, it seems as though she's appeared before. Four years ago there was this gruesome murder. Most thought that it was a very hungry shark…but when have you ever heard of sharks in the Onose River? Others, supernatural specialists confirmed that it was Nure-Onna. But upon further investigation, it seems as though the noppera-bō was there that night. He was her first victim."

At the tone of her voice it was obvious, even to Ichigo, that it was someone she knew. He put the weights down and, grabbed a towel and wiped his face before sitting up.

"Was it someone you knew?" he asked, looking her in her sad violet eyes.

She looked to him, a sad smile on her face and nodded.

"His name was Kaien Shiba. He was an associate of my brothers…he was very special to me."

A hot hand touched her shoulder. She looked up surprised, as Ichigo patted her hair, his eyes filled with sympathy and understanding.

"Don't worry, I promise that she will be defeated. Kaien… Mizuho…all those people will be avenged. I won't rest until they are." He stared into her eyes with such conviction and surety, she felt her heart pound and tears swell.

She released a cry and buried her face in Ichigo's sweaty chest.

He was stunned for a moment, and then he wrapped his arms around her much smaller frame.

"Dear Kami!" she exclaimed, crossed between a cry and a laugh. "You stink…really bad."

Ichigo just gave a deep throaty chuckle.

oOo

* * *

"So let me get this straight. You want me help you with a case…after you brutally murdered an incredibly large majority of my kind...to save the lives of a few measly humans? Does that sound plausible to your ears? Because to mines, that sounds like total bull shit." The vampire hissed at them.

His fangs were a hypnotizing pearly white, his skin porcelain and delicate. His raven black hair shone in the moonlight, as the gentle breeze disturbed its style. His dark blue gaze was piercing.

He used his gloved index finger to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Ishida-sama, please, you must reconsider. I know what we did to your people was unforgivable, however you must understand the circumstances-"

"Honestly, I don't see how that's my problem or as to why I would care. Something you don't seem to understand yourself. The fact that you would even ask is something that I find beyond me."

"Please you don't understand. We need your particular skill set to determine who this vengeful spirit is and why it's targeting people and who it will target next."

"And I needed you not to destroy my clan, but it seems as though we don't get what we want. Now please, you are wasting precious feeding time."

"Oh let's cut with the bullshit, he's obviously not going to join us, let's cut our losses and move on!" Ikkaku said exasperated.

"Finally, someone with some sense,"

"No, not until he agrees-"

A loud explosion erupted from behind them. Dirt and ruble rained upon them, staining their hair and clothes. An irritated look crossed the vampire's face as his pristine white suit was dirtied.

They turned to face the direction of the blast; they could clearly feel the dark energy of the yokai.

It was a powerful one.

It's body was engulfed in a hellish flame, fire shot out from its hands in streams as thick as tree trunks. It was large and it released a loud demonic roar.

People screamed and cried out as they fearfully ran from the yokai.

The devilish fire spewed out of control, consuming the buildings, plant life, and human life in a matter of seconds, quickly devouring everything in sight.

"It's a Kasai shōhi akuma!" shouted Yumichika sprinting into action. Renji and Ikkaku were already behind him, brandishing their swords.

Ikkaku jumped into the air and thrust his sword into the beasts head.

The beast's massive hand flew to him and knocked him against the burnt remains of a building. The fire scorched his shirt, burning into his chest. If he hand any eye brows they would have been singed off.

Yumichika spun mid dash and slashed his sword down. A large gust of wind came from the motion as the air sliced into the beast.

It howled, the act only angering him.

"FUCK! For this job we're going to need Hitsugaya!" Yumichika yelled to Renji.

"Yeah, well do you fucking see him around?!" he yelled. They were close to the beast and the heat was unbearable. The sweat poured off their bodies, making their sight a bit blurry.

Renji looked around for a source of water, burning embers floated around them, smudging their faces.

He spotted a fire hydrant.

"Cover me," he yelled over the roar of the creature as he made for the hydrant.

The beast swiped at him and he felt a large gust of wind hit his back, propelling him to the ground.

He rolled on his back and shoved his sword upwards into the hand of the yokai.

It howled in pain, as it staggered backwards.

Renji scrambled up and continued his mad dash.

Ikkaku flew towards the creature, his original plan to directly attack the creature still in his mind. He swiped at the monster's neck; his sword lodged itself in his neck. He was forced to release it before he was consumed in flames.

Yumichika ran towards the creature, he jumped into the air and sliced into the yokai's arm, effectively separating the limb from its body.

It howled in pain. The heat became more intense. It swept its remaining arms across the area, fire spewed from its hand, the unbearable hellish flames rose to a terrifyingly tremendous height.

Renji swiped at the hydrant, but before he could make contact with it, he felt himself being engulfed in flames. His body screamed in pain, as he was effectively paralyzed. His lungs screamed as he attempted to breathe, the smell of his scorched, seared flesh filled his nostrils.

He faintly heard the sound of his name before he collapsed on the ground.

Ikkaku and Yumichika looked in horror as their friend was devoured by the flames. His name escaped their lips in a strangled cry as he fell.

They ran to him, thanking Kami that he was a yokai himself; otherwise the powerful yokai's fire would have burned him to ashes.

The Kasai shōhi akuma screamed and swiped at them, but he staggered.

Five blue light arrows struck the yokai in the forehead and chest.

"Now! Use the hydrant!" the vampire yelled at them. Not hesitating, Yumichika sliced the hydrant. A thick gush of water at bone breaking pressure rushed out of the hydrant and struck the monster.

It howled in bloody Mary as its heat began to dissipate, the monster slowly died, screaming its death until it was no more.

They ran to their fallen comrade.

His was badly burned, his body completely chard. His hair and clothes were completely burned off.

Ikkaku's eyes were wild with anger and fear. He looked to Yumichika as if he somehow held the ansewer.

"Inoue…Inoue-san! Call Inoue-san!" he yelled. Ikkaku felt around for his phone.

He didn't have it.

"I don't have it! It must have fucking fallen out when the yokai smashed me into the building!" he yelled.

Yumichika felt around for his phone.

oOo

* * *

"Orihime, please come out. I know what happened the other day scared you, but you can't spend the rest of your life hiding. Who's going to plan our wedding?" Ichigo suggested as he tried to coerce his fiancée to leave their bedroom.

She had casted a spell on the door so he was unable to enter. He had to wear the same suit to work two days in a row and those dipshits kept commenting on it.

She didn't answer. Normally, she would get super excited about wedding talk.

He could feel his heart constrict inside of his chest. She was hurting and there seemed to be nothing he could say or do to stop the pain that she was in.

"Orihime…please…?" his phone began to ring. "Yo,"

"Kurosaki! Fuck! We need Inoue, now!" a frantic Yumichika yelled over the line.

"What happened?" Ichigo asked, worried. Yumichika didn't do frantic. It would mess with his style, not to mention that he felt it was unattractive.

"It's Renji…this fucking Kasai shōhi akuma burned him. It's really bad, I don't think he's going to make it. Just fucking bring Inoue here…NOW!" he yelled.

Ichigo banged on the door.

"Orihime! Orihime! Renji's in trouble! We need you out here! Please!"

The door flew open; her red rimmed eyes were filled with concern and worry.

"What's happened to Abarai-kun?" her voice was horse.

He blanked for a second, shocked at the state that she was in.

"He's been hurt…really badly…I think he's knocking on death's door. We got to go now." He looked at her, trying to gauge her ability to use her powers.

A determined looked sparked in her eyes as she wiped the tears from her face. She nodded and grabbed Ichigo's hand and closed her eyes. focusing on Renji's aura.

She cried out, her screams tearing through Ichigo's soul as their surroundings melded from their home to the streets.

Smoke was thick in the air so much so that it was almost impossible to breathe, the heat of the ground almost unbearable to the human touch.

Ichigo lifted Orihime off the ground, for she wasn't wearing any shoes and the ground being the way that it was. She clung to his neck as she moaned in pain.

Renji must be in worst shape then he'd thought.

He spots them not too far away and runs to them. He nearly vomits when he sees the charred body of his friend. It was blacked, like tar, and completely crusted. The smell of burned flesh was thick.

Orihime's eyes and hair pins glowed briefly before the wind began to blow furiously and coldly, cooling the area.

Ichigo sets her down gently, unsure if her connection with Renji was over. She breaks away from him, tears in her eyes as she looks upon their fallen comrade. She kneels beside his burned frame.

"I can fix him," she mumbles to herself, placing her hands on his barbequed chest. She took a deep breath and exhaled. Her eyes and hair pins glowed as she gathered her power and released her healing energies on him.

A golden glow surrounded him as his internal damages began to repair themselves. The burned and frayed nerves melded back together, the tissue regrew back to its original state. It was less of her healing him and more of her reversing the damage that was done to his body.

She closed her eyes and let the process take over.

It was like a movie being rewound. It was quite a sight to see.

The men stood around the half-ling, amazed at her power. The vampire looked on with keen interest. Never had he seen someone with the power to revive the dead…well, at least to their original state.

"Unh.." she moaned. Her eyes flew open, the glow still there, only faintly as a distress look came across her.

"What's wrong? What's happening?" Ichigo was at her side immediately. Sweat began to form along her brow, her face paled.

"His aura…it's…it's been tampered with!" she exclaimed cringing.

"What do you mean it's been tampered with?!" Ikkaku growled. "Can't you fix it!"

"I'm trying! I've never come across this problem before!"

"Well then do something! Find a way, even if you have to go to the realm of the dead and bring him back, just do something!"

"Back the fuck off, she's trying!" Ichigo snarled at him.

Orihime furrowed her brow in concentration. Obviously, her normal healing technique wasn't work. She searched her mind for a spell or an incantation that would allow her to bypass this dark energy that prevented her from healing him.

"Genitrix vitae, dea salutem et vitale. Sanatores promisit pariter et medici Saga, da mihi potestatem, et virtutem Ades igitur et facultatem ad sanandum hominem, ad auferendum dolorem, donec novus iterum!"

His body glowed brilliantly, illuminating the street.

The damage to his body was reversing.

She smiled, relief colored all of their faces. She could feel his life's energy begin to return to him.

She released a blood curdling scream that made Ichigo feel as though he was being ripped apart.

She had begun to burn.

* * *

**Comments, Questions and/or Concerns?**

**Up Next: Blood Harvest**


	8. Blood Frenzy

**Whoa, was it only yesterday that I uploaded a new chapter? **

**It's a celebration chapter. I'm am done with tests! For now. **

**So, read, review and enjoy!**

* * *

She was burning.

She couldn't see the flames but she could feel them, crawling up her arms, burning her flesh. The heat scorched her muscles, severing tendons, melting nerves. Her creamy white skin blackened and bubbled and crinkled into burnt flesh. The pain was obliterating every thought; every piece of her mind was consumed by the blinding pain.

She screamed and screamed and screamed.

However, she held her ground and continued to pour her energies into healing Renji.

"Orihime! Orihime?!" Ichigo yelled, vastly worried about the situation.

Every-time she screamed it was as if a knife was driven into his stomach and viciously twisted.

He tightened his grip on her shoulders. Her skin was hot. She was sweating buckets. He didn't understand why she was screaming. It was as if she was dying some gruesome death.

"Orihime?! What's going on?! What's happening?!"

She continued to scream. He could feel her aura spike exponentially. The winds around them began to stir furiously.

He tried to shake her, to push her away from Renji. She wouldn't budge.

An explosive force erupted from her and blew everyone back, sending them flying a few feet I the air.

She collapsed on top of Renji. Her energy completely depleted.

She was unconscious.

Ichigo knocked some rubble of him and scrambled to his Orihime.

"Orihime!" he gathered her unconscious form. She was breathing.

He looked for signs of damage. She appeared to be fine.

"What the fuck was that?!" Ikkaku exclaimed.

Ichigo ignored him.

"Orihime!"

Several witches appeared worried and pained looks on their faces. Rangiku was the first to her side.

"What happened?" she asked gently, worry clearly evident in her voice.

"I don't know! She was healing Renji...but there were some complications...she tried a spell...but then this happened!" Ichigo explained, clutching his unconscious beloved.

"What are you guys doing here?" Yumichika questioned.

"We felt our sister was in distress. It felt as though she was dying," Unohana responded, walking over to Ichigo. "It seems as though someone was out to destroy her." she stated as she felt Orihime's forehead. "I sense a dark energy that has corrupted his energy," she said gesturing to a newly healed Renji.

"What do you mean someone is out to destroy her?!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"It means that Renji was bait and Orihime the prey. They tampered with his energy and when she went to heal him she was attacked." Yoruichi supplied, kneeling down next to her sisters.

"Yes, from the feel if it, it was the Noppera-bō." Unohana stated. She closed her eyes and felt around for the energies.

Rukia appeared her eyes wide and worried.

"Renji?! Orihime?! What happened to them?!"

"They were attacked by the Noppera-bō."

"This seems too advanced for a vengeful spirit," Yumichika stated.

"It does. But something tells me that this isn't a normal vengeful spirit. It's powerful obviously. Which means that it's either working for someone, or isn't the work of a spirit at all." Yoruichi concluded.

"We can discuss this later, however, Orihime needs a circle now or she's going to die." Rangiku stated strongly.

Her blue eyes glowed brilliantly. She placed her hand on Ichigo's shoulder and the world melted around them into a dark room with several lit candles.

"Lie her down on the table," she ordered Ichigo. She waved her hand over the table and a circle with a six pointed stare and various symbols in which Ichigo didn't understand appeared.

He moved to the table and set Orihime down gently. She looked to be in great pain, he could barely feel his connection to her. It was faint and thin, but it was still there.

The other witches appeared in the room, they immediately went to work, gathering the candles, water, and crystals.

Ichigo stood there, helpless to do anything but worry. Suì-Fēng turned to Ichigo.

"We are going to need you to leave." she said firmly.

"No, I'm not going anywhere," he growled at her. Anger flashed through her eyes.

"Yes you are, you're full of negative energy and that will only contaminate what we're trying to do. Besides, this is sacred ground. Yokai aren't supposed to enter."

"But she's my-"

"Ichigo-kun, she's right. You mustn't be here for this. I promise you that she will be alright," Rukia told him, touching his arm. She gave him a tight smile. He looked at her, and then to Orihime. He didn't want to leave her.

"Go buy something to eat. She'll be very hungry when we're done," Rukia offered, giving his arm a squeeze.

Reluctantly, he obliged.

oOo

* * *

"Okay so we need to get to the bottom of this spirit. She attacks two of our own and it seems as though she has a personal vendetta against Orihime. What are we going to do about it?" Yumichika asks, leaning against the wall of the meeting room.

Surprisingly, he's yet to take a shower and is still covered in dark smudges and sweat. His normally perfect dark hair was beyond ruffled and his festive feathers which decorated his eye were gone, burned from his fight with the beast.

"Yeah, it seems pretty weird, considering how that girl is about as dangerous as a fruit fly," Ikkaku muttered, his arms folded across his chest as he leaned back in the comfy black chair, his feet proper on the large dark wooden table.

"Well I wouldn't say that," Jūshirō Ukitake said. His long white hair flowed over his shoulder and blended into the white of his suit.

"The girl is obviously very powerful, especially seeing as though she's a half witch. The fact that she has the ability to resurrect people is testament enough of her powers and strength."

"Yeah, but what's the use of all that power if you don't use it to kill?" Kenpachi Zaraki interjected.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying here. She couldn't hurt someone let alone kill them. So who would want her dead?"

"Maybe she isn't the real target," Torshiro Hitsugaya suggests. Everyone turned to look at him. His short, spikey, snow white hair fell over one of his turquoise eyes, which seemed cold and humorless.

"Maybe they're really after Kurosaki-san and are using her as a means to get to him."

"Well when you think about it, he does seem to pick up enemies how like I pick up babes," Shunsui Kyōraku commented.

"Please, you do not pick up babes," Nanao sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, it's a wonder how he doesn't have more enemies than he does now," Yumichika stated.

"So there's this spirit wondering around trying to take revenge on Ichigo-kun by trying to kill Inoue-San? This is ridiculous!" Kenpachi exclaimed. "Any real threat wouldn't waste their time on a weaker opponent! I don't see this as a threat, more of an annoyance. This person is obviously a coward!"

"You are right Zaraki-San. This doesn't add up. Why are they killing innocent people?" Torshiro questioned.

"Maybe they need the dead souls to stay fueled?" Ikkaku suggested.

Ukitake shook his head.

"Whatever is going on we need to get to the bottom of it. We should call Kurosaki-kun and tell them-"

"No no no," Yamamoto thick gravelly voice interrupted. "Kurosaki-San and Inoue-San aren't to know about this." surprise danced in the eyes of many.

"Gomenasai Yamamoto-sama, but why? They are in danger, its best that they be aware. Inoue-San was critically injured." Torshiro sputtered out.

"I know, however, if Kurosaki-san was to know that the reason Inoue-San is being targeted is because of him. Or even if it was suspected, he would distance himself away from her. Then we would be left without a lead."

"But when he finds out that we are using Inoue-San as bait, he'll be out for blood. Besides, looking out for one another is a part of our job description."

"Under no circumstances is anyone allowed to tell Inoue-San and Kurosaki-San of our suspicions." his deep voice boomed.

His order was given. They had no choice but to follow.

oOo

* * *

It was a dark cold September night. The sky held no clouds, the moon was disappearing, and the wind blew harshly. The night before, there was a terrible fire. The streets still reeked of the offending smell. The ground was scorched beyond repair. The pavement was even melted in some areas.

There were a total of 12 casualties that can be identified. They are still trying to discern the ashes that were left behind. It would take weeks before the final casualty list was up.

The young man didn't care for that. Sometimes bad things happen. There was nothing that could be done about that. He certainly couldn't do anything about it, so why even bother.

He stuffed his hands further into his pockets and nestled his chin into his scarf.

It was unbearably cold out to not wear a jacket.

However, he wouldn't be cold for long.

The streetlights flickered overhead as he slowly and leisurely made his way to the train station.

The lighting was dim and sparse. A few people milled about waiting for the last of the trains to pull in so that they could go home, snuggle up in their warm beds, and be surrounded by their loved ones and comfort.

He snorted.

These people were idiots.

Something crazy like an abnormal fire that spread a fourth of a mile wide and the only thing they could think about was their families. It was pathetic. It was weak.

It made him angry.

He counted.

1, 2, 3, 6, 8. There were eight people in total at the train station. 3 girls, 2 boys and the rest older business men. The teens looked as though they were going out. Maybe to a club in town. The business men were obviously going home, after an unbearably long day at work.

Or so they thought.

He made his way to the older gentlemen, and stood beside a balding man, a few straggly hairs plastered against his shiny bald head. His suit was disheveled; his face was in a dire need of a shave. He looked at the man and asked him a question.

"What color do you prefer, red…or blue?"

The man was put off for a moment. Surprised that this young man was even speaking to him. He ignored him.

"Is that your final answer?" The boy asked, a smile crossed his face.

The man said nothing, only proceeded to take a large step away from the boy.

His smile grew wider.

There was a loud groan that came from the ground, beneath the man. His eyes widened into saucers as he looked at the ground.

A crack appeared underneath his feet, dipping inward. The man quickly stepped back, flabbergasted by the sight. The ground continued to crack and break beneath him, until there was a hole.

The man released a startled yelp, moving backwards in a panicked fashion, tripping over his own feet.

He looked around to see if anyone was seeing this. Apparently not.

The ground continued to crackle, groan and break around him.

He screamed as he was swallowed into the ground.

The boy smile and moved to the next two gentlemen.

"So what do you prefer," he asked the two, friendlier looking gentlemen who were chatting amongst themselves. "Red…or blue?"

They looked startled; they were surprised at the weird question.

"Eto…well, my wife always said that I looked dashing in red?" one of the men said proudly. The other snorted.

"Please, you look terrible in red. I, on the other hand, look sexy in red."

The boy smiled as the bickered over who looked best in what.

"Is that your final answer?" he asked them. But they were too busy arguing to hear him. "I guess so."

He produced a knife from his pocket.

Before the man could process what was happening, he slid the knife deep into the back of his neck. The blade slid cleanly across the muscles, nerves, tendons and bone of the neck. Dark red blood spurted wildly before calming down and poured down the man's back in a steady flow.

His friend sputtered his eyes wide in terror as he saw what had befallen his friend.

But before he could even utter a cohesive sound, the boy was upon his, performing the same act upon him.

The two men collapsed on the ground, their bodies twitching and shaking as they died.

He smiled, delighting in the way that their blood stained the ground.

He turned his attention to the teens.

Swiftly, he made his way to them, a devilish smile upon his face as he reveled in the way the girls eyes widen in appreciation of his form. It was true; he was every girl's weakness. When they saw him, they saw the guy of their dreams.

It made it easier to lure them, when he was trapped, forever destined to kill only women in their bathrooms. But something released him, a strange faceless spirit and he was thankful for it.

"Ohayou ladies, may I ask you a question?" the girls giggled, the boys narrowed their eyes in anger and jealousy.

"What color do you prefer red…or blue?" the boys scoffed, folding their arms, as the girls seriously considered their answers.

"Obviously, it's blue," one of the boys said, the other nodded his agreement. The boy cocked his head to the right and lifted an eyebrow.

"Is that your final answer?" he asked.

"Hey you asked your question, now beat it, before we kick your ass!" one of the boys threatened.

"Okay," he said.

He lunged towards the nearest boy; he grabbed his phone and shoved it deep into the boy's mouth, effectively blocking his airway. Using his palm, he thrust upwards and broke his nose.

The boy held onto his throat, trying to escape the pain and gather air. But with both of his airways blocked completely, he began to suffocate.

He turned to the next boy; he looked on in fear and horror. He crouched down and performed a spin kick, knocking the boy on his back. He hopped on top of him and tightly grasped his neck.

He squeezed tighter and tighter until he felt the boy's windpipes collapsed under the pressure. He smiled satisfied.

The girls screamed, their high pitched wails were music to his ears.

"SO WHAT DO YOU CHOSE?!" he roars at them, the bloodlust pumping vibrantly through his veins.

They scream and fumble over each other, trying to escape.

However, running is hard to do in short dresses and high heels.

One girl falls to the ground, her knees scrapping the pavement.

He pounces on her.

Straddling her, he bats away her efforts to stop him. Tears stream down her stricken face, she cries out for help.

"What do you chose, red or blue?" he laughs at her.

"RED! RED!" she cries out, her tears choking her.

"RED IT IS!" he shouts manically. He pulls out his knife and drives it hard into her chest. She screams out, but he continues to stab her until they are both drenched in her blood.

He climbs off her and listen for her friends.  
They aren't far away.

He runs up the steps of the station, and rounds the corner. He sees them stumbling down the dimly lit street.

With supernatural speed, he chases them, catching up to them in a matter of seconds.

He grabs one girl, she fights him, her body bucking wildly against his as he presses his body close to her back, his hand on her neck and her hip.

"What color do you chose," he whispers into her ear, rubbing his face against her, smudging the blood of her dead friend against her face.

"LET GO OF ME! HELP! HELP ME SOMEONE PLEASE!" she screams.

"Choose a color and I'll let you go," he murmurs against her face.

"Red!...red.." the tears stream down her face in a steady stream. "pleaseletmego, pleaseletmego, pleaseletmego," she begs incoherently.

"Red it is," he breathes against her.

He takes ahold of her hair and uses his knife to slice deep into her neck. Her blood sprayed across the pavement. He threw her to the ground.

Her friend was out of sight. He smelled the air, her fear stained the air deliciously.

He ran, following the scent.

She was hidden in the bushes, crying into her phone, calling for help.

"What color do you chose?" he whispered to her.

She released a blood curdling scream, scrambling away from him.

"Chose and I'll go," he bargained with her.

She shook her head, mascara tears streaked her face.

"Is that your final answer?" he asked, raising a blood soaked eyebrow.

She only whimpered.

He sighed before striking the ground hard with his fist. A whole was formed in the earth. It grew bigger and bigger. She screamed and tried to move back as the whole reached her.

She wasn't fast enough.

oOo

* * *

Ichigo sat on his bed, spooning soup into Orihime's mouth. She made a happy noise every time she received the spoonful of soup. It was her favorite, red bean paste soup. She really loved the stuff.

This was her third bowl.

"Mmmmhhhh! This is super delicious Kurosaki-kun!" she exclaimed happily.

He gave her a gentle smile and said nothing as he continued to feed her.

"Really, Kurosaki-kun! You should be a chief!" she opened her mouth, prepared for the next spoon. It was like feeding a baby. He chuckled softly, delivering the spoon into her mouth. She hummed happily, a content look splayed upon her face.

He prepares to deliver the next spoon into her open mouth. At the last moment, he eats it.

She looks surprised, and then pouts adorably.

"No fair," she announces, like a little kid. He couldn't stand it, he laughs.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," he prepares the next spoon. But once again, he tricks her and devours the soup. Her eyes widen in surprise again.

He laughs, at the look on her face, the sound resonating throughout the spacious room.

She quickly grabs the bowl from him and drinks the soup. When finished, she smiles triumphantly, the dribbled down her chin in her haste to keep it from him.

Before she could wipe her mouth, he leans to her and licks the soup residue from her chin, starting from the bottom to the base of her lower lip. She inhales sharply as he then continues to lick the surface of her lower lip, before taking the plump flesh fully into his mouth, sucking it. She sighs; her sweet breath blows out in a gush.

He releases her mouth, smirking at the dazed look that her face held.

He shifts on the bed, crawling over her so that he lied besides her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

She turns to look up at him, reaching to grab his face tilting her head up. He meets her rest of the way and covers the upper part of her, his tongue traces her upper lip as he sucked it. He releases it and kisses her full mouth, his tongue slides over hers as her lips moved against his. He can taste the sweet red bean paste soup that lingered on her tongue.

He releases her once again and pulls her close, resting his chin on her head. She snuggles into his chest, happiness welling inside her like a balloon. She was out of breath and light headed.

Her sisters had just released her about an hour ago; she was in no condition to go any further. However, he was just as content to sit there and hold her.

"…Ichigo-kun…" she said softly. He made a sound to assure her that he was listening. "…about before…gomenasai…I was being pathetic and selfish. And I'm sure that I worried you for no reason-"

"Orihime, it's okay. Honestly, you don't have to apologize or explain anything."

She shifts in his hold until she's straddling him, her grey eyes wide and pleading, her long orange hair tumbles over her shoulder.

"But-"he shook his head.

"No buts," he insisted. "It's not like I'm angry, or even upset. When you're ready to talk, I'll be here, ready to listen." He gave her a small smile. She weakly returned it, leaning her forehead against his, a curtain of orange hair shrouded them. She still wasn't convinced.

"Hey, remember what I said when we were in training for the Organization, when you were upset because they told you that you lacked the killing instinct to be an effective agent?"

She nodded.

"What did I say?"

"…that as long as you were alive, I didn't need a killing instinct," she recited quietly.

"That still stands true, even today. You don't have to fight alone, I will be there with you always, ready to fight any fight and deliver that killing blow. I will protect you, with everything I have, and more," he whispered to her. She could feel the tears welling in her eyes, she blinked them away.

"Arigato," she thanked him softly, yet her heart was still uneasy.

There was no way that she would tell him that he was the one she needed protection from.

oOo

* * *

_4 Hours ago:_

_Orihime awoke with a start. She was covered in sweat; her breathing was rapid and shallow. Her body felt as though it had been through a meat grinder._

_She looked at her arms and hands. They were unmarred and not burned horribly like she thought. She felt around her face and body. Everything was in its place and normal._

_"Orihime-chan!" Rangiku exclaimed joyfully, embracing the girl in a deep hug. "I was so worried about you!"_

_"Gomen…Rangiku-chan, I didn't mean to worry you."_

_"None sense, it wasn't your fault that you were attacked," Rangiku said through muffled tears._

_"Eh…what?" attacked? Was she attacked?_

_"Rangiku-nee, please, give her some space," Unohana said gently, her voice as soothing as cooling cream on a burn._

_Rangiku released Orihime, taking a few steps back. Her entire coven was there. She realized that she was lying on the table. She was confused._

_"What happened?" she asked, taking in the relieved faces of her sisters._

_"The Noppera-bō. She set a trap for you, using Abarai-san as bait," Yoruichi supplied._

_"But I didn't feel her presence…"_

_"She hid it well. You wouldn't have noticed it unless you were looking very diligently for it." she answered._

_Orihime looked to Unohana, their coven leader, for confirmation. She looked down on her and nodded, her eyes never leaving Orihime's._

_"Sisters, if you don't mind, I would like to speak with Orihime-chan in private," Unohana gave the subtle order._

_The witches all bowed and disappeared from the room in a puff of smoke. Rangiku lingered, a torn look on her face as she eventually left as well._

_Orihime swallowed thickly, and fiddled with her fingers, unable to look Unohana in the eye._

_She nearly jumped when she felt her hand gently on her shoulder. She looked up into Unohana's kind eyes._

_"Y-yes, Unohana-nee?" she asked hesitantly._

_"Orihime-chan, I am concerned for you."_

_"Ah, please don't be Onee-chan. I am not afraid of the Noppera-bō. She just caught me off guard is all," she said, rubbing her head._

_"I think we both know that I am not talking about the Noppera-bō." Orihime looked down, away from her coven leader. "The others cannot tell, but I can see it very clearly. It's been getting worst, hasn't it?"_

_Reluctantly, she nodded._

_"Orihime-chan, all that dark energy doesn't disappear. It stays with you and collects. And throughout all of these years, you've just been adding more and more on. As a witch, you can handle more dark energy than a human, spirit or yokai, however, it does take its toll on us, and you're only a half-witch. I'm afraid it's going to get worse. You must stop before it destroys you." She insisted._

_"But Unohana-sama, you must understand. If I don't do this for him, he will destroy himself!" she pleaded._

_"But if you continue to do so, you will be destroyed in the process as well as him. All of this dark energy is killing you, and once you're dead, all that will remain is a monster, a powerful monster that will have to be put down. Do you really think that he would be able to handle that? Are you really okay with putting him in that position?"_

_Orihime tried to hold back her tears. Her heart grieved painfully in her chest. She knew her sister spoke the truth, she couldn't hold out forever. The effects of absorbing his bad energy was lasting longer and longer. The more she absorbed, the stronger the urge to kill was. She could feel herself get lost in that darkness. She knew that one day, she might lose that battle._

_"No…I won't put him in that position," she said quietly._

_"But I also won't stop,"_

_"Orihime-"_

_"I will do everything in my power to save Ichigo from becoming a monster. Even if it means trading my life for his, I will do it. Until my dying breath, Ichigo will not become what he fears most."_

_"What will you do when it overcomes you?" Unohana asks._

_"It won't. I can handle it."_

_"But what if you're not strong enough?"_

_Orihime smiled, remembering when she and Ichigo was younger, when they were in training for the organization and he told her that he would be her killing instinct._

**"But what if the yokai is too strong for you to kill it by yourself?" she asked him**. **He looked at her, a determined look shone brightly in his eyes.**

_"I'll become stronger," she answered, looking Unohana straight in her eye. She still looked dubious._

_"If all else fails, no one will have to worry about killing me…"she took a deep breath._

_"I'll do it myself."_

* * *

**Comments, questions and/or concerns?**

**Up next: Scream**


	9. Scream

**Here's a super duper long chapter for whoever happen to still be reading this story. But as a forewarning, I told you guys that things would get darker so...yeah..**

**To Sacha: I'm so glad to see that you're still reading the story. Here's a update and I hope that you enjoy this very long chapter that I stayed way late into the night working on. I think that you might like it. **

**To Magdelena: Lets see what conculsions you come to after this chapter. **

**To the rest of you, Read, Review and Enjoy.**

* * *

_2 years ago_

_She stormed in the house, anger plastered on her delicate face, her grey eyes alight with flame._

_No one has ever seen her angry. In fact, not one person could say that they have ever seen her angry the entire time that they've known her._

_"Orihime, please let's talk about this!" says her orange headed fiancée._

_She ignores him and storms off to their bedroom and slammed the door._

_He walks to it and tries to open it; an invisible force propels him back._

_"Shit! Come on Orihime, don't do this. Let me in!"_

_"Go away!" she yells from the other side of the door._

_"No, you're mad and we need to talk about this!" he said patiently. She wasn't normally angry and this was cause for concern._

_"Go talk to yourself! I'm done talking to you!"_

_"I don't see why you're so upset in the first damn place!" he yells back, his short lived patience has abandoned him._

_Apparently. That was the wrong thing to say._

_The door flew open, catching him in the nose. He stumbles backwards as his fiancée storms out of the room, her face the epitome of anger._

_"You don't know why I am upset?" she asks slowly._

_Never in his life would he have ever used the adjective, terrifying to describe his girlfriend._

_But that was before._

_"You honestly have idea why I am upset?!" her voice rose as she stepped closer to him._

_He instinctively took a step back, beads of sweat forming along his brow._

_"You have NO IDEA WHY I'M UPSET?!" she screams._

_"...no...?"_

_"I AM NOT SOME DOLL THAT YOU CAN DRESS UP!"_

_"Really, you're still upset about that?"_

_"IT WAS ONLY 10 MINUTES AGO!"_

_"Still, don't you think you're overreacting?"_

_That was also the wrong thing to say._

_Her eyes glowed briefly and he felt himself being slammed against the wall._

_"YOU EMBARRASSED ME! THAT YOKAI WAS LAUGHING AT ME!"_

_"Why the hell does that matter?! He's dead!"_

_Ichigo was now pissed. She was blowing this way out of proportion._

_"You do NOT have a say over what I wear! I am a grown woman!"_

_Ichigo growled._

_"I think that if my fiancée leaves the house dressed like a fucking dominatrix I have the right to object!"_

_"I am not dressed like a dominatrix!" she seethes gesturing to her skin tight leather pants and brazier that revealed considerable midriff and crisis crossed in the back complete with 3 inch boots that reached mid-calf._

_"Oh, forgive me," he spat. "You just look like a prostitute!" Even when the words left his mouth, he knew that they were wrong and he would suffer dearly._

_Her face scrunched up and her eyes narrowed. Her power rolled off her in huge waves._

_"A PROSITUTE?!" she roared._

_She lifted a hand and he flew up to the ceiling, his head banged painfully on the wall. She moved her arm outward, sending him slamming against the door which concealed the ac unit. She forced her hand downwards, which sent him flying down the stairs to land painfully on the ground._

_He groaned as he tried to sit up. He was in shitloads of pain. She was really lucky that he loved her._

_She floated down stairs, still coated in power and fury._

_"This isn't the 1930's where you can tell me what to wear and how to dress! Newsflash Ichigo, this is 2010, and you're not my FUCKING BROTHER!"_

_Swearing._

_That was also a first. But he didn't have time to dwell on that. He was now just as insanely furious as she._

_He stood up, glaring at her._

_He leaped into the air, an unnatural height, and closed his arms around her, pulling them both down to the ground with a jarring impact._

_She struggled to get free._

_She brought her knee up to his stomach; he ooffed and rolled to the side. She stood up and pointed to her finger where the beautiful retro modern lucky clover 14 karat white gold diamond sat upon her ring finger._

_"This does not give you the power to control me!" she seethed._

_He swiped his leg outward, sweeping her legs from beneath her._

_She landed on her back with a thud._

_He rolled on top of her and snarled._

_"I think it gives me some say over what you wear. You know, if you had any respect for me as your future husband," he growled at her._

_Her large grey eyes widened to the size of saucers._

_She wiggled underneath, cursing him._

_"You pretentious, backwatered, American asshole!" she spat at him._

_He gripped her shoulders tightly, his fingers digging into her soft flesh._

_"I'm not American, my mother was, and I just spent a lot of time there. And you might want to watch your mouth, it's as filthy as what you're wearing," he sneered, tugging at her brazier._

_It ripped._

_Her eyes widen as she scrambled from underneath him, her arms crossed over her chest to hide her bare breasts from him._

_Suddenly, he had a difficult time staying angry._

_"…Orihime…I'm sor-"_

_"Retexere!" her eyes and hair pins glowed briefly._

_Suddenly, the black overcoat of his kimono unravels and falls to the floor. Leaving him in the white kimono and black hakama._

_He's shock. She just destroyed his coat._

_He takes a deep breath. He deserved it; he shouldn't have ripped her brazier off._

_"Retexere!"_

_His Kimono falls apart, leaving him only in his hakama._

_"Hey! I only ripped your top…by accident!" he shouted, trying his best to keep from ripping her hands from her chest._

_"And I ripped you're top! I don't have a bra on!" she yelled, her face red with embarrassment and fury._

_"Please, it's not like I haven't seen them before," he groaned at her._

_"Well then I hope you remember what they look like, because it'll be a long time before you ever see them again!" she spat, turning to storm up the stairs._

_He mulled over that thought._

_She couldn't possibly withhold sex from him over a stupid outfit…_

_"Retexere!" she yelled, the slamming door marking her exclamation._

_Gone were his hakama._

_…could she?_

oOo

* * *

Finally, September was almost over.

It was the last night of the terror that gruesome month that held so many deaths.

It was the last night of the horror that has started so many years ago.

Every year, in the month of September, ill omens seemed to be about.

Yet, tonight it would finally end. Tonight it will all finally be over.

Ryō Kunieda and Kyōko Haida walked home from the bar contented and happy. Kyoko was exceptionally happy because it was the last night of the terrors.

The people in this town seemed to think nothing of the horrorible deaths that occur. They of course didn't know of the supernatural casues.

They suspected them, but they were too caught up in their own lives to care.

However, Kyoko knew.

She knew that her friend, Inoue-chan was a witch.

She knew that her hot tempered fiancée was a powerful yokai.

She knew that, since 4 years ago, every September the number of supernatural deaths will increase ridiculously.

She knew all of this because she was a seer.

She knew things about people, especially those with high spiritual power.

However, that was the limit to her power. She couldn't fight, not that she would ever want to, and she couldn't defend herself. But she really didn't need to. She knew when it was safe to go out and when dangers were near.

The cold wind blew her short black hair about face as her drunken friend clung to her arm, swaying about trying walk like a sober person.

"I-I-I swear! Kyoko-chan, getting you to come out and have some fun is harder than, harder than…harder than…a rock!" she exclaims throwing one of her hands in the air.

Kyoko chuckled. Ryo always wanted to go out when there was danger in the air, unbeknownst to her, of course.

Kyoko could always convince her to stay home or for them to just hang at each other's home.

Tonight, there was a faint danger, but she felt the presence of numerous powerful yokai about that weren't any danger to them so she felt that it was safe enough for them to go out.

He friend was rambling about nothing in her stuttered drunken speech, not making any sense whatsoever. Kyoko wasn't exactly drunk, yet she was buzzed enough for her senses to be dulled.

Dulled enough so that she didn't feel the presence of the white masked yokai that crept behind then with a long red blade ready to add their blood to its collection and take their hearts as prizes.

She did, however see the faceless girl at the end of the street ahead of them.

She screamed.

oOo

* * *

Ichigo ran as fast as he possibly could. He wasn't going to be late this time. He wasn't going to let that faceless bitch kill again.

Orihime was with her coven, they gathered for an emergency meeting to discuss the Noppera-bō and why she might want to kill her.

He had to admit that he was grateful for it. Those witches were scary powerful, and the ones not a part of the Organization had agreed to lend their power to help them take down this spirit. The vampire has also agreed to help.

He didn't give any reason or indication as to why he suddenly joined. He just agreed to lend his assistance.

Ichigo rounded the corner and saw the human sized yokai with a white mask, it's eyes mere vertical slits, lift it's blood red sword to slice the two, vaguely familiar looking women.

With supernatural speed, he lifted his sword and slashed downward, a blast of energy flew towards the monster.

Quickly, the yokai deflected the blast, looking up to Ichigo.

The women fell on the ground. One of them was obviously very drunk.

The one with short black hair looked up to Ichigo, her eyes alight and relieved with recognition.

"Kurosaki-san!" she cried out, tears of relief streamed down her face.

He made it over to the women and helped them up. He looked at the short haired woman in confusion. She looked past him and her eyes widened in horror.

"Kurosaki-san behind you!" she screamed.

He could feel that the yokai was upon him, it hid its energy very well.

He turned and blocked the creature's attack, their swords met together in a clash of sparking steel and metal.

Ichigo used his strength to push the yokai backwards, away from the women so that they wouldn't be hurt.

It jumped back. Ichigo charged, releasing a guttural cry as she swung at the yokai. It flipped backwards turning and thrusting it's sword out towards Ichigo's midsection.

He blocked, gathering a ball of pure black destructive energy in his hands and threw it to the yokai. It caught him in the shoulder, sending him rolling on the ground. Smoke rose from the figure.

Ichigo sped to the creature, and sliced Zangetsu downwards, prepared to behead the monster.

It disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Ichigo looked around for the creature. It was gone.

He heard a loud piercing scream.

The women!

He raced to them and saw the creature prepared to send a red ball of destructive energy to the women.

"NOOOO!" he roared as he made it to the women and pushed them out the way, catching the blast in his chest.

He was blown backwards into the air until he landed painfully on the ground. His head jarred when it made contact with the ground.

His chest was charred, an indescribable pain made it impossible for him to breathe. He tried to move, but his limbs wouldn't listen to him. His brain was swarming as he tried to breathe. He couldn't.

The yokai slowly made his way to Ichigo, it's sword lifted high in the air.

With all of it's strength, it drove it's sword downwards, completely spearing through Ichigo.

oOo

* * *

_This was ridiculous._

_It's been a whole week since the argument._

_It's been 8 days since they last had sex._

_It was driving him insane._

_He was a man…with needs!_

_However, she refused to sleep with him until he admitted that he was out of line._

_He, on the other hand, refused to sleep with her until she admitted that she was overreacting._

_So 2 days after the argument, it became more of a pride thing._

_Now, Ichigo was a stubborn, prideful person. He hated admitting that he was wrong when it came to anything. However, Orihime on the other hand, wasn't prideful at all. So the fact that she let this go on was weird, although Ichigo would have to assume that it was due in fact to Rangiku who kept egging the girl on, encouraging her to make him fail, to make him give in to the sweet, delicious temptation that was her smooth, creamy body that he craved each and every single day._

_But no._

_He vowed to stay strong._

_He would not let her skin tight clothing allure him._

_He would not let the doors left wide open when she took a hot shower seduce him._

_He would not let her gentle touches and caresses, her lingering kisses, her hands trailing through his hair, nails scraping along his scalp entice him._

_He would not let her sudden attraction to the beach, in which she wore very skimpy, white bikini's, and the cold water clinging to her supple skin, or her eating strawberry flavored snow cones entrap him._

_He most definitely would not let her sudden concession to addressing him by his first name which arouses him so as the syllables escapes her lips, her voice bringing the sound of his name to life, force him to submit._

_Oh dear God how he wanted to cave. How he wanted to give and admit to anything she said just so he could the sweet, appeasing deity that was she._

_But he couldn't._

_He wouldn't give in to her!_

_He had a plan._

_"Oh! Ichigo-kun," she said surprised. He briefly closed his eyes. She said his name with such care and sensuality. "What are you doing home so early?" she questioned. Thankfully she was wearing a long light blue flower print skirt, with a teal camisole and white blazer._

_Because she works at an elementary school, she is unable to wear her tight, revealing clothing that she had begun to wear to entice him into giving in._

_He, however, what wearing a sweat soaked wife beater and boxing shorts as he ran on the tread mill in their workout room._

_He smiled in his mind, as he increased the speed on the treadmill._

_He's been working out more to work of some of the…frustration that he's been having. Renji, who somehow was privy to their battle, suggested that he works out at home, given that Orihime seems to like it when he sweats._

_He could feel her eyes trained on his butt as he ran._

_He turned off the machine, grabbing a towel and wiped the sweat off his face._

_"Oh, I decided to take off work today. I wanted to get home early to prepare dinner for you," he said, walking over to her and kissing her chastely on her head. It was quick and simple. She barely felt it._

_She was confused._

_He left the room, he knew that she was following him, and made his way downstairs to the kitchen._

_He stirred a pot on the stove and took a spoon and tasted the Kenchinjiru soup._

_"Hey Orhime, come taste this," he summoned her._

_Her eyes were as wide as saucers as she took in the delicious aroma of the soup._

_He blew it gently before placing the soup in her mouth._

_Her eyes closed as she smiled brilliantly._

_"And here, try this California roll," he said lifting the sushi and popping it into her mouth._

_"mmmmghhh," she groaned incoherently_

_Yeah, he was seducing her with his sweat and food, her two favorite things. It was cheap, but hey, she started it._

_"I also mad shrimp tempura," he said, reaching past her to grab the basket. She inhaled a strong waft of his musky, natural scent, and felt the heat radiating off his arm and chest._

_She wanted, more than anything to lean against him. She stopped herself, shaking her head to rid herself of the thought._

_"Oh, but before dinner, you just have to try this red bean soup that I've made," he said making his way to the refrigerator._

_Her eyes widen. Red bean paste had to be her weakness. He made a soup out of it!_

_"Eto…that's okay Ichigo-kun, I've had a huge, ginormous lunch today so I can't possibly eat any of this delicious food that you've made!" she said quickly, backing away from the kitchen._

_He lifts an orange eyebrow, a smirk splayed upon his face. He leaned back on the counter and folding his arms._

_At that moment a loud growl erupted from her stomach. In fact, she had been so busy today she was unable to eat lunch and she had a very light breakfast._

_So in short, she was starving._

_"Is that right?"_

_She nodded, a nervous look flittering across her face._

_"So basically, I went through all of this trouble…for nothing?" he questioned, gesturing to the food. she nodded once more._

_He stared at her nervous form, his smirk growing with each passing second._

_Suddenly, he pushed off the counter, shrugging._

_"Fine, I guess I'll give it to the neighbors," he turned to reach into the cabinet, grabbing the Tupperware._

_She closed her eyes in pain at having to sacrifice the delicious food. This wasn't fair! She shouldn't have to sacrifice not eating just to win some stupid argument! It wasn't worth it!_

_"Eto…"_

_"Yes…?" he turned around, a lazy smile on his face. She bit her lip and held her hand to her chest, looking away. Rangiku would squeeze the life out of her if she lost this argument. Or rather this battle, because honestly, they weren't even fighting anymore. They were just testing each other to see how long the other could go without sex._

_And in all honesty she was losing._

_Although Rangiku told her what to wear, how to act, what to do, she could feel herself fighting within herself every step of the way._

_Every time she touched, caressed, whispered his name, looked him in the eye as she played in the ocean, kissed him…she wanted to jump his bones._

_She was a healthy, hot-blooded woman. She had needs dammit! And by Kami she had a very irritating itch that needed to be scratched!_

_But she will be strong. She will not let her sister down. For woman kind everywhere she will win this fight!_

_However, just for womankind everywhere information…_

_She was hungry, horny and highly combustible. So, if she was to breakdown and give in and plead him to ravage her body, she cannot be judge._

_"Could you help me?" he asked, gently packing the sushi away._

_Her thoughts interrupted, she makes her way over to him and grabs a bowl and fills it with soup._

_The smell is so intoxicating; she's near faint with hunger. Maybe just one taste wouldn't hurt…_

_She sees Ichigo moving in the corner of her eyes. She turns to see him putting red bean paste on a piece of sushi before popping it into his mouth. Her eyes become large and watery. That's what she loves to do. She was the one who got him to like to eat sushi with red bean paste! And now here he was enjoying the two without her!_

_He wanted to laugh at her expression. It was so forlorn and desperate._

_Yeah it was a cheap, dirty trick to use her favorite in the world against her, but after day five, all bets were out the window, he would use every dirty trick in the book to get her in the bed._

_But first, she must surrender._

_Shocking him, she placed her hands on his shoulders and stood on the tips of her toes and licked the corner of his mouth._

_She licked the corner of his mouth._

_She stood back, licking her plumps pink lips, satisfied._

_He had some red bean paste on the side of his mouth, and in a moment of weakness, she just had to have it. Somehow, her favorite thing to put red bean paste on was Ichigo._

_They just stood there, him in shock at her. Her, slightly ashamed in having licked him in a moment of desperation in the middle of their war._

_There was nothing but silence for the longest time._

_"Oh dear GOD," he said at the same time she said "Ichigo," in a breathy voice._

_They met, wrapping their arms tightly around each other, their hands tangled in their hair, devouring each other's mouths._

_He greedily drank her in, his mouth moving against every inch of her mouth and chin as she tighten her hands in his hair, kissing him the force of a bulldozer._

_Her hands moved down to his shirt, peeling the cloth off his sweaty back. Her hand glided easily against the wet skin. They broke apart long enough for her to remove his shirt._

_His hands went to her hips, his fingers digging into her sides, pulling her closer to him as his tongue explored her mouth. She groans into his mouth, her mouth stretching beyond what was comfortable, however her mind was beyond caring._

_He helped her out of her blaizer and lifted her onto the counter._

_She grabbed his face in her hands and covered his mouth with hers, her tongue sliding against his. His hands busied themselves with lifting her shirt over her head._

_She felt her long silken hair glide agiasnt her back._

_His hot hands were on her once more as he lifted her off the counter onto the cool kitchen floor._

_Her skirt feel to around her waist as she wrapped her thick, creamy white thighs around his increadibly hot torso. He kissed her chin, nipping along her jawline, leaving little red marks on her smooth flesh._

_His hand left her hair and traveled south towards her neither regions._

_"ngh!" she gasped as his hand glided over her sex in slow, long, methodical strokes. She closed her eyes tightly, moans escaping her mouth, as she moved against his ministrations. He could feel the heat and the moisture through her underwear. She was beyond ready for him._

_He continued to rub her sex, pressing harder and moving faster. She groaned louder, grinding her hips against his hand, her nails digging into his shoulders._

_He kissed her neck, tugging on the thin layer of skin with his teeth. He could hear the dishes in the in the cabinets move and shift as her energy spiked higher and higher. She was close._

_He fingered the bundle of nerves at her core, rubbing it with his thumb and forefinger. She cried out, tossing her head back, ignoring the pain the radiated from the contact with the ground._

_His other hand moved to her back and expertly released her bra._

_He took in her beautiful, milky white breasts, and the pert pink areolas that stood attention to greet him. He smirked as he remembered what she said a week ago._

_He had encoded the way her breast looked in his memory and they still looked as beautiful as he remembered._

_He took one in his mouth as her kneaded the other one, tugging and pulling on the sensitive skin, reveling in the groans and cries she was making._

_He pushed her underwear asides and nearly came himself as his hand touched the slippery, wet hot cavern on her vaginal center._

_"ICHGIO!" she screamed out as he plunged one of his long digits insider her, moving it around and pulling it out again. He continued to do the process for a few minutes before adding a second finger._

_He felt her tight, inner muscles clench around his fingers, her nails dig into his as she still. Dishes flew out of the cabinets, drawers bursts opened. His back became coated in the most delicious pain ever as he felt his skin open and the hot blood run down his back._

_He is, by no means a masochist. However, since the first time he's made his Orihime orgasm, he found that the pain that comes with it was incredibly arousing. Maybe it was because it was normally followed by an orgasm of his own, maybe it was because it was associated with his favorite pastime. Who knows?_

_She was breathing heavily, her vision dotted with black dots and lines. Her body screamed and ached, as the pleasure rolled over her in waves, drowning her. It was difficult to breathe without shuddering._

_She vaguely felt the sensation of him removing her soaked underwear, along with her skirt._

_However, her mind jumbled into focus when she felt his hot breath on her inner thighs._

_Ichigo moaned as he leaned up, pressing his face into her soft slit, snaking his tongue out to slide over her clit. Bringing his hand up, he grabbed her ass, allowing his index finger to slip into her crack and gently probe at her puckered hole, only inches from his tongue. Pulling her down farther, he slid his tongue deep between her puffed labia, flattening it against her button again and writhing it about._

_Ichigo redoubled his efforts, slipping 2 fingers into her vaginal hole as his tongue continued its assault on her clitoris. As the juices flowed, soaking his fingers, he slid them back out and spread the musky liquid around her rosebud anus, lubing it well. He dipped his fingers deep into her, wiggling them about and soaking up as much of her juices as he could before pulling them free again. He pressed them against her anus. His fingers popped suddenly past her tight ring, slipping fully into her anus._

_She grabbed a head full on his orange hair, pressing his face closer to her sex as she ground against it, moaning his name over and over in barely coherent sounds._

_It wasn't long before her second orgasm. He felt the skin on his back open as the blood slid down, dripping, staining the white floor red._

_She couldn't think. The only thing that occupied her mind was the intense pleasure that seemed to encompass her entire body._

_Her muscles felt like jelly, her brain swarmed in her head as she tried to focus her vision._

_She was tired, her body ached from her muscles clenching and releasing. Yet, she wanted more. She wanted, no, needed more of him._

_She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself up to her knees. She crushed her lips to his, running her hand down his back._

_She felt the stickiness of his thick blood coat her hand, yet she ignored it as she has learned that healing in the middle of sex was cause for her to be punished._

_Gently, she pushed him on his back, his blood, marred the white floor, and climbed atop of him, straddling his torso._

_She leaned down and deepened the kiss, her tongue stroking his, as their lips moved against each other._

_Her hands traveled south and she searched for the buckle of his pants. He smiled into kiss._

_"Mn, there's no buckle…babe…it's boxing shorts…" he said through the kiss._

_"Retexere!" she mumbled, the pants unraveled, revealing his large, erect, glistening red, mushroomed capped member._

_Her hand flew behind her, grasping the appendage tightly._

_She fingered the top, before she slid her hand down his shaft and back up. She repeated to motion, tightening and twisting her grip as she went. He moaned into her mouth, moving his hips slightly in her grasp. His hands went to her hips, palming the soft skin tightly as she pumped him._

_She then palmed the head of his member and twisted as if it was a door knob._

_He threw his head back, his brain assaulted by the stimulation. He thrusts into her hands, his hips moving of the own accord._

_She moves away from his head and backs down his shaft, in long, hard motions. He grunts, her grip on him tightening as she pumps him._

_He feels himself winding up, a familiar pressure building within him. It's been so long since he felt it, a week! It's been a whole week since this delicious torture; he couldn't believe that he went a week without her. He feels himself climbing higher and higher._

_He moans, as he comes into her hand, his white, hot semen spilling thickly onto her skin. His erection becoming limp and soft._

_He breathes heavily, his chest moving up and down in a deep repetitious motion. Although he came, he knew that they weren't done yet._

_She kisses him, licking his neck, consuming his ear in her mouth, her teeth grazing the soft cartilage._

_She releases his ear and gives him wet kisses on his neck, making her way to the other side of her head were she repeats the process with his other ear._

_He groans, his grip tightening on her hips, his fingers digging into the soft flesh of her skin as she ground her piping hot, dripping sex on his stomach._

_She stops kissing him, and scoots back, her firm butt rubs against his rapidly hardening member. He groans his appreciation of the movement._

_Once she felt that he was fully harden, she lift herself and positioned her glistening, ready sex over his. Slowly, she lowered herself, his large member squeezing into her tight, wet hole, stretching her to an almost painful extent. She gave a small cry as she took him within herself._

_She placed her hands on his chest, smearing his essence on him, her nails digging into his skin as her inner muscles clench tightly. The only sounds that could be heard were their deep, breathy pants. Her long orange hair rested on her back and flowed onto his chest. Every time she breathes it caused a faint tickling sensation._

_Slowly, she began to ride him, moving up and down on his shaft. His fingers dug into her thighs, he grunts as he thrust upwards into her tight cavern. They moved together, her meeting his every thrust. She ground hard against his body, her grunts and hitched sounds arousing him, taking him higher and higher with each mew she made._

_She could feel herself coiling tighter and tighter. She could feel her third orgasm just within her reach. Her breath became shallower; she gave a small whine and whimper as she came closer and closer to her orgasm._

_She rode him harder and faster, her breasts bouncing with her movements. Sweat coated her body, the friction of their movements making sounds almost as loud as her own._

_She mewed, crying louder and louder until a blinding white light encased her mind. Her entire body shuddered, her muscles clenching tightly as her juices spilled all over his hot, hard member in a constant gush._

_After she came he felt his own orgasm consume his body as he spilled his hot white seed into her body, the over flow spewing out of her, mixing in with her own juices, coating their lower bodies._

_This time, the pain was across his chest, he could feel his skin rip open and the pain coupled with the intense pleasure._

_She felt onto his chest, not caring that it was a bit bloodied and that it seeped into her hair._

_They stayed like that for a while, waiting until their breathing was calmed and their hearts to quell it rapid beatings._

_He fingered her hair, coiling orange locks tightly around his fingers, tracing patterns on her back._

_"…Ichigo-kun…" she said in a breathy whisper._

_"…mmhh…yes?" he replies huskily._

_"Who won?" he chuckled, the act causing his chest to vibrate. She giggled, loving the sound of his laughter, something that seems reserved only for her._

_"I don't know princess, I honestly don't know. But I do, however, know one thing,"_

_She made small circles on his chest with her finger and giggled again._

_"What?"_

_"I now know to never question what you wear ever again."_

_She laughed._

_"And don't you forget it," she mumbled into his chest, placing a light kiss on him._

_"…So…why don't you transport us to our room and we can get started with round 2?"_

oOo

* * *

When he woke, he knew something was wrong. He couldn't move his body. He couldn't feel his body. Something was horribly wrong.

His inner demon had taken over.

'Let me out!' he screamed out to his demon, struggling against the mental bonds that restrained him.

**You couldn't handle this pathetic yokai, so I'm handling him.** His inner demon answered back. Looking out of his own eyes, he saw his demon decapitate the yokai, its black blood spurting like a fountain as the monster dissipates into nothing.

'Okay, its dead now let me out!' he ordered his demon, trying his hardest to break free.

**No, you couldn't take care of our body, so now I will. It snarled back at him. Our princess should feel your disturbance, and she should be here soon. Real soon.**

'YOU FUCKING BASTARD. I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU! LEAVE HER ALONE OR I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!' he screamed at his inner demon. His heart went into overdrive as terror gripped it. He struggled and bucked wildly against his restraints.

**Too late! She's mine now!** His inner demon laughed manically.

"…eto…Kurosaki-san..."Ichigo saw through his eyes the girl that he saved. Her friend was clutching her back, as she drunkenly and fearfully swayed on her feet. Both of their faces were tearstained, fear etched deeply into their skins.

"Arigato…arigato for saving us…" she cried, clutching her hand to her chest.

His demon smirked and tilted his head to the side.

"Who said anything about saving you?"

Ichigo scream as his hand holding Zangetsu lifted.

oOo

* * *

"AUGH!" Orihime screamed, clutching her stomach, she fell to the ground.

"Onee-chan! Is everything alright?" he sisters asked worried. They were in their meeting room, all of them gathered together to see why the Noppera-bō was after her and what they could do to further protect her.

"Ichigo!" she breathed through the pain. He was hurt, he was in pain…he was in agony…

…he needed her.

She left her sisters in a plume of smoke, focusing in on his corrupted energy.

She appeared, but she wasn't on flat ground, she was in the air, on the edge of a bridge.

She wasn't prepared for this.

She toppled off and fell at an alarming speed to the ground.

oOo

* * *

'NOOOOOOOOO!' Ichigo screamed as he saw his beautiful fiancée fall from the bridge and hit the hard, unforgiving pavement with a thud.

His inner demon laughed.

He knew that she would focus in on her energy and would appear where she felt he was. So he waited at the top of the bridge, and when he felt her coming, he moved.

'ORIHIME!' he screamed, his heart full of fury and pain. His mouth wasn't working; his body wouldn't do what he wanted it to.

**Finally! It's been so long since I was able to hurt our princess. Let see what I can work with.**

'NOOOOO! SHE IS NOT A PLAYTHING! YOU WILL NOT LAY I HAND ON HER! I REFUSE!' he used all of his mental strength and pulled against his bonds as his inner demon used his legs to walk towards Orihime.

One of the girls who escaped his demon, the one with short black hair, limped over to Orihime, standing in front of her as if to protect her.

'NO! GET AWAY! RUN AWAY! PLEASE!' he screamed within himself. He saw Orihime stir. He could see the blood in her head spill on the ground, staining her bright orange hair a dark color.

His heart constricted at the sight. She was hurt…and it was all because of him.

She lifted her head and saw the figure in front of her.

"…Kyoko-chan?" she asked, not quite sure if she was seeing her high school friend. The girl turned her head and nodded briefly before turning her pleading gaze towards Ichigo.

"Kurosaki-san, please, this isn't you. You don't want to hurt h-"

Before she could finish his inner demon took Zangetsu and sliced her across the chest. Her thick hot blood splattered on his face rained down upon Orihime who looked on, her eyes wide with horror.

"…ky…kyo…KYOKO-CHAN!" she cried out. She tried to get up, but her body protested loudly in effort. She tried to use her energy to heal her friend; however, as she reached out, Ichigo's foot came down hard on her hand.

"Augh!" she cried out. "Kyoko-chan!" she screamed out, tears streaming down her face as her longtime friend was murdered by her fiancée…or rather his demon.

"Oh, so she's your friend? That's why she knew me. I wonder if that other girl she was with was your friend too?" said the distorted voice of her fiancée.

She followed his gaze and inhaled sharply in horror as she saw another of her high school friend cut in half.

"RYO-CHAN!" she cried out, choking on her tears.

The fake Ichigo laughed, he bent down and grabbed a fist full of her hair, lifting her up by it. Blood streamed down her face, seeping into her shirt, plastering her orange hair against her face.

The fake Ichigo licked the side of her face where most of the blood was flowing. She whimpered, reaching out weakly.

He shook her.

"No, none of that absorbing my energy, I hate it when you do that." He snarled at her, shaking her like a doll.

He lifted Zangetsu up to her neck.

"I should pierce you with this blade for every time you did that," he snarled at her.

'LEAVE HER ALONE YOU SICK BASTARD!'

"No…you wouldn't do that," she said, looking him in his golden eyes as that tends to be the color when the inner demon takes over. Her grey eyes were filled to the brim with sadness and pain. "You can't hurt me…"she whispered.

"And what makes you say that?" he asked.

"Ichigo…you're a part of him…and he would never hurt me…"she said fearfully.

"Well let's test that theory!" he said lifting Zangetsu, prepared to strike her.

'NOOOOOO!' Ichigo screamed out, using every ounce of his power to force his inner demon to submit.

"Gyah!" his demon stumbled, dropping Zangetsu and Orihime and grabbing his face.

He fell to his knees, screaming in agony as he clawed at his face.

"No you bastard! You don't deserve it! You don't deserve to rule! AAHHH!" he screamed as Ichigo regained control of his body.

He slumped to the ground, exhausted.

He stirred, groaning.

Slowly, he pulled himself to an upright position, digging his palms into his eyes, attempting to rid himself of the pain that was mounted in his head. However, he was unable to rid himself of what he'd done that night.

He killed two innocent civilians.

He killed two of Orihime's friends.

She knew them on a first name basis.

And he'd killed them.

Orihime!

He quickly spun around to see his Orihime slumped on the ground. She wasn't moving.

"Orihime!" he yelled, scrambling to her.

He collected her limp form into his arms; she shuddered, her grey eyes fluttering.

He turned his head away as his brain processed the strong aroma of human blood. His stomach churned and he began to feel dizzy. He forced his stomach to keep his food down as the scent forced its way down his nostrils. Images of that night when his mother was murdered assaulted his memory.

The green grass which was stained a rusty red color of her blood. His hands were covered in the sticky, congealing red stuff. It was smeared all over his face, into his hair. His mother's mangles body and dead eyes as she looked at him.

"I-Ichigo?" she moaned. He nodded the motion useless since she closed her eyes, but he couldn't trust his voice enough to speak.

"R-Ryo…K-Kyoko…"her voice broke as she silently cried over the loss of her friends.

This was his fault. All of this was his fault.

He killed her friends. In front of her very beautiful, innocent, grey eyes, he slain her friend, and marred her skin with their blood.

He watched as she landed on the edge of the bridge, her intent to save him, and did nothing but watch as she fell 30 feet to the ground, her precious blood painting the pavement and staining her hair.  
His stomach heaved as he forcefully held back the urge to vomit. The stench of human blood consumed him. He closed his eyes tightly and brought her closer to him, rocking back and forth.

He didn't know what to do, he killed innocent people.

HE KILLED INNOCENT PEOPLE!

And he bathed in their blood. The dark red sticky goop.

He hurt her.

He hurt her.

He hurt her.

He was a danger to her. What if he couldn't stop it?

She had so much faith in him, she was so sure that he wouldn't hurt her.

Her eyes when she said that he couldn't hurt her.

But he felt it. He felt his inner demon wanting to hurt her.

He loved that fact that she was covered in her own blood, loved the taste of it. He loved it when she fell from the sky, her bright orange hair trailing behind her, whipping in the wind and halting as she abruptly made contact with the ground.

He loved the smell of her blood as it poured out of her head on to the ground.

The sound of her cries and the look in her eyes when his sword cut through her friend as she tried to protect her.

He always knew that his demon wanted to hurt her.

He always wanted to see her in pain, to hear her cry out as she's beaten bloody.

His demon was always begging him to inflict pain on her.

He was supposed to protect her, not this.

This wasn't protecting her. This was…this was putting her in more danger than he could have ever possibly imagined.

The only way to protect her…

Would be to leave her.

* * *

**Questions, comments and/or Concerns?**

**Up Next: Queen of the Damned.**


	10. Queen of the Damned

**To Sacha: Here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it cuz this one is a little dark. I am currently writing the next chapter even as we speak.**

**To the rest of you: Read, Review and Enjoy!**

* * *

She couldn't believe it.

He was leaving her.

He was honestly leaving her.

"Ichigo-kun, please, let us talk about this!" she pleaded him as he packed his bag.

"There's nothing to talk about, besides, you should be in the hospital," he said, his voice holding the barest amount of emotion.

"But Ichigo-kun, you can't just leave without…without my knowing!"

"I was hoping that it would be easier that way, that way neither of us would have to deal with a messy goodbye," he finished packing his bag and went to packing his gear. He refused to look her in her large, sad grey eyes.

"I told you I forgive you. I forgive you!" she cried out, holding on to elbow.

He spun around and grabbed her shoulder, shaking her, fire in his eyes. She flinched and subtly withdrew into herself.

His eyes soften and sadness overwhelmed them.

"See…I scare you now…How can you be around someone you fear?" he asked softly, releasing her shoulders. He grabbed his stuff, swinging Zangetsu over his shoulder. He walked away, pausing at the door. "I'm going to stay at Renji's for a while. I'll come back later this week to get the rest of my things."

"Please don't go," she begged softly.

He left, the door swinging shut behind him.

She covered her mouth with both of her hands, trying to force the sob that threatened to escape as she fell to her knees, her orange hair pooling around her light blue hospital gown. Tears seeped down her face, soaking the top of the shirt completely.

She was ashamed. She was ashamed because what he said was true.

She was afraid of him. She was terrified of the monster that she saw in him. In all honesty, she couldn't get the image of him slaughtering Kyoko.

Those golden eyes that mocked her as he held her up by her hair, as he crushed her hand with his foot.

Things like that are hard to forget, they are hard to overlook.

Although she knew it wasn't him, and she knew that he would never do any of those things, she still saw his body, heard his voice, as distorted as it was. It was nearly impossible to forget that, it haunted her dreams, her nightmares…

She was scared of Ichigo.

Yet, that didn't mean that she didn't love him with every ounce of her being. She still loved him entirely with every fiber of her soul. It wasn't his fault that she was hurt; it wasn't his fault that her friends would have to be buried.

But even to her, it was hard to see past the fact that their blood was on his hands. It was hard to forget the look in his eyes as he murdered her friends before her.

She was a coward…as simple as that.

She couldn't see past that.

Her cowardice…disgusted her.

She was disgusting.

Disgusting.

Disgusting.

Disgusting.

Disgusting.

Disgusting.

She began to pull at her hair, yanking it furiously.

She was a coward. A stupid, filthy, disgusting coward and she lost him because of it.

She lost him.

She lost him

She lost him because she was a disgusting coward.

She began to rock back and forth, yanking her hair, tears streaming down her face.

She was useless. She was pathetic. She didn't deserve to live.

She should probably just end her life right now.

She should go ahead and get it over with.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no," she moaned over and over, shaking her head.

These weren't her thoughts. This wasn't how she felt…was it?

You're weak. You're weak and pathetic!

No! she's not weak. She's not pathetic.

Yes you are! You weren't strong enough to stop him, to save him from himself. You weren't strong enough to save Ryo-chan. You weren't strong enough to save Kyoko-chan who died trying to save you!

"I know…I know," she whimpered weakly to herself.

You are nothing. You are less than nothing. Always needing someone to save you, can't ever protect yourself from anyone.

"Yes…I can…" she said weakly.

No, you can't. You can't even protect yourself from your own fiancée.

"I can,"

If you were stronger he wouldn't have to worry about his inner demon hurting you.

"He doesn't…"

Really? Then why is it that you were admitted to the hospital? Whenever he's in trouble, you rush to his side, without thinking of a plan. You're more trouble than you're worth. This breakup is necessary. You only hinder him. You're pathetic. You're disgusting. You're weak.

"No…I'm not."

Yes you are.

"I'M NOT!" she screams, pressing her hands hard onto her ears to block out the voice. The vases, picture frames and window all shattered with her words.

She looks up, her face tearstained and stricken.

She was losing it.

All of that dark energy that she's been consuming over the years...it's beginning to affect her even when she doesn't absorb it.

_Orihime-chan, all that dark energy doesn't disappear. It stays with you and collects. And throughout all of these years, you've just been adding more and more on_

It's starting to boil over, making her go insane. She was becoming a threat to herself and to who knows whoever else.

It didn't matter anymore if she continued to absorb his dark energy.

The damage was already done.

It was only a matter of time before she was destroyed.

She was damned.

oOo

Ichigo clutched his bags tightly in his hands as he stood at the door of Renji's 3 bedroom apartment across town from his home with his fiancée.

His ex-fiancée.

But he refused to think about that. He was standing by his decision. Leaving her is the best thing that he can do for her.

The door opened and a shirtless Renji. Thick, black tribal tattoos covered his toned arms, shoulders, chest and torso. His long crimson hair hung down his back and flowed over his shoulder. A maniacal grin spread across his face. Ichigo quickly grew irritated; a scowl firmly settled itself on his face.

Renji threw an arm around Ichigo and dragged him inside the surprisingly neat and clean apartment.

"Come on man, you look like you need a drink," he said, kicking the door closed behind them.

"Get off me, I want to be alone," Ichigo said, shrugging off Renji's arm. He stalked to the spare bedroom, not bothering to take his shoes off.

He dropped his stuff on the floor and collapsed on the bed, draping an arm across his face.

He tried to ignore the shuddering pain in his chest that radiated through his body every time he took a breath. He willed the tears that threatened to well in the corner of his eyes. He ignored the burning sensation in his throat that threatens to choke him.

He was in pain. He will admit that only to himself.

He didn't want to be here, bumming in Renji's apartment, miserable.

He wanted to be home, on his couch watching some stupid, cheesy Halloween movie on television with a soft body nestled deeply against his chest as he rested his chin on soft, silken orange tresses, feeling her soft, subtle breathing.

He squeezed his eyes tightly to stop the tear that threatened to fall.

No. He would not think about that. He would not do this.

He left her for her own safety. He was dangerous. His inner demon becoming harder and harder to control, he couldn't protect her from that, she couldn't defend herself from him.

He was certain that if the time came for it, she wouldn't be able to kill him.

So he would erase her tears from his memory, as she asked him not to go.

Instead, he would replace it with the look of fear in her eyes when she awoke in the hospital and found him at the side of her bed.

He would replace it with her flinching from his touch, her tears as she fought him off in her nightmares, moaning his name in fear.

He was dangerous to her. He was a monster, destined to forever fight within himself.

He was damned.

"Ichigo-kun, are you hungry?" Renji's muffled voice asked through the door. Ichigo could smell the takeout on the other side of the door. He said nothing. Eventually, Renji left.

It was hours until he felt a familiar presence at the door.

"You know that I can smell you on the other side of the door Rukia," he said.

There was silence and he heard her shifting.

"Yeah…I know. Renji-kun told me that you were here," her voice was soft and gentle.

"Yeah? Well did he also tell you that I didn't feel like talking to anyone," he stated his voice bleak and unemotional.

"He said that you and Inoue-chan were having…troubles," she paused.

"It's no one's fucking business," he grumbled.

On the other side of the door she gently bit her fist, pressing her other hand tightly to her chest. She could feel the ache in his aura very clearly. It radiated in great rays from the other side of the door.

"Ichigo-kun-"

"I mean it Rukia, I don't feel like being bothered. Go away," his words were final. She could sense that she wouldn't be able to get through to him.

She sighs and moves away from the door to the living room.

"See what I tell you? He's a wreck, a complete fucked up mess," Renji said as she entered the room. She nodded sadly, looking back at the room where Ichigo was staying.

"Do you know what happened? I mean, why did he leave her if he was going to be this miserable?" Renji shrugged.

"Well, he did kill two of her friends and injured her pretty badly. Well, it wasn't him, it was his inner demon."

"Inner demon? But he's yokai, he's already a demon," she said confused. Renji shifted uncomfortably on the couch. He had put on a plain white t-shirt a few hours ago so only the tattoos on his face and arms were showing.

"Ichigo-kun is a special case. You see, when Ichigo-kun was born, he died. His mother, being a witch, went to the land of the dead and brought him back to life. However, when she brought him back, she brought back something else as well that latched on to his spirit entered his body with him." Rukia covered her mouth in horror, her violet eyes opening wide.

"Yeah, he's been struggling with it ever since. Sometimes, the demon actually take over his body…reeks some major havoc…I know that something happened once that he never talks about which is why he broke up with her. And after everything they went through to be together…"Renji sighed, shaking his head.

Rukia looked to Renji and then back to Ichigo.

"How can you stand this heartbreaking aura?" she whispered. He just shrugged, turning his attention to the television.

"It's just the first day."

oOo

Ichigo grunted as he swung Zangetsu in an arch like motion towards the yokai. It jumped back, doing a series of flips, jumps and twists. He sped towards the yokai charging his sword through the surprised monster.

He kicked the yokai off his sword, the black blood dripping on to the ground.

He turned to Renji to see him finishing off his yokai. He looked around for the civilians.

That's when he felt her.

He spun around to see her appear. His eyes were wide and full of longing.

Quickly, he berated himself for those feelings.

She looked at him, her grey eyes widening. She held her hand close to her chest and bit her lip to keep from crying. She turned away from him to the civilian that needed her help.

She made her way to the injured boy and began to heal him. He looked up at her and smiled.

"Are you Enjeru?" he asked huskily. She smiled and shook her head. "You must be…you're beautiful…and you're saving me," he said lifting his hand weakly to lie upon her knee.

"Gomen, but I'm no Enjeru. There," she said removing her hands from the young man. "You're all better."

He touched his stomach were the monster had dug his hand into, and instead of the dire pain that radiated through his body, he felt nothing.

She helped him sit up, checking him to see if there were any more injuries that she had missed.

Ichigo watched it all play out, clutching his sword tightly in his hand trying to contain his possessiveness and anger.

She was HIS queen! She was the ruler of his domain!

Of his, fucked up, damnable life.

It's been two days already. He should be over this by now.

He turns away from her.

"Yo, Orihime-chan, are you done?" Renji calls over to her. She nods, giving him a small smile. "Then come have lunch with us," he said, strapping his sword to his back.

"Eto…"she replied nervously. Ichigo turned and glared at Renji.

"What? I'm hungry. We can go down to that ramen place," he said shrugging.

"…it's okay…I'll just grab something to eat later," she said, backing up, avoiding looking at Ichigo.

"That's ridiculous, just come on," Renji said, exasperated.

"Just go Orihime," Ichigo said. Her heart skipped a few beats, as she met his woeful eyes. "Renji, I'll be at the apartment." He said turning to go.

"See, he's not even going. You can bring that guy over there. I'm pretty sure he's starving, you know, near death experiences will do that to you."

Ichigo halted, his shoulders tensing, and ground his teeth.

"Ah…well then…I guess so…"

"Hey, you're hungry?"

"Yeah, I could eat."

oOo

Ichigo had decided to join them for lunch after all. He didn't give an explanation as to his sudden hunger; however, Renji was certain that it had to do with the shaggy hair man that fell victim to Orihime's beauty and charm. It was hard not to notice. He hadn't taken his eyes off the poor soul yet.

"So are you guys like superheroes or something like that?" the boy asked Orihime. His name was Shūkurō Tsukishima, and it turns out that he was a poet.

Ichigo hated the bastard.

She gave him a polite smile and thought for a moment.

"Well, I wouldn't say that we're superheroes. More like monster fighting other monsters," Renji supplied for her. A smile lit up her face and she nodded happily.

"Hai! That's it!" she exclaimed happily. Ichigo furrowed his brow, she thought of herself as a monster?

Tsukishima lifted a thin black brow, a smile gracing his features.

"I don't believe that, someone as pretty and as gentle as you? You can't possibly be a monster."

"What else has the power to revive a person other than a monster? Other than someone who's damned?" she asked darkly, her grey eyes darkening. Ichigo grew concerned, as did Renji.

"Hime…"Ichigo longed to reach out and touch her hand. Her eyes brightened as she snapped her glance to him, a smile graced her features.

"Well then I guess you would be Queen of the Damned," Tsukishima stated, offering her a dazzling smile.

"Man, I'm stuffed," Renji said, stretching. His black shirt rose a bit, revealing his well-defined abs. A phone began to ring. It was Tsukishimas.

"Excuse me," he said looking at his phone, a frown on his face. "I have to take this," he got up from his seat, answering his phone in a hushed tone, walking away from them.

"Yeah, I guess I should be going now too. I need to get to work." Renji said, looking at his phone to check the time. "You got the key to the apartment right?" Renji asked Ichigo.

He nodded, not taking his eyes off of Orihime, who had begun to fidget uncomfortably under his intense gaze.

"Come on, I'll walk you home."

oOo

They walked slowly in silence. Neither could bring themselves to say anything, both stewing in their own pools of pity and depression.

However, Orihime could clearly feel Ichigo's aura and how it was destroying him. She was worried that in the midst of battle he would do something stupid which would cause him to be hurt.

She gathered all of her courage and took a deep breath.

"Kurosaki-kun-"

"Orihime, please could we not do this?" he sighed, already knowing what she was going to say.

"But Kurosaki-kun, you need to know-"

"No. I don't. I don't want to hear that you forgive me. Or how it wasn't my fault, okay?" he said sternly.

"Please Kurosaki-kun, just hear me out," she pleaded.

"Orihime just stop! Please just stop it." he stopped walking and turned to face her. "I know what I did, I know what happened and I was weak and powerless to stop it! So stop trying to fucking make me feel better!"

"I am only trying to help," she pleaded.

"I DON'T NEED YOUR FUCKING HELP!" he exploded at her. She flinched and took a step back.

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes and running his hands through his bright orange hair.

"I don't need you to try and make me feel better," he resumed walking. She stared after him for a minute before walking behind him. She was determined to make him see to reason.

"Kurosaki-kun," she ignored the way he groaned in irritation. "Kurosaki-kun, I know that you're devastated about what happened, about what you did-"

"That's just it Orihime! You don't understand shit because you didn't do it! You didn't murder any innocent people, you didn't push me down from the top of a bridge, and you didn't hold a fucking sword to my neck! So you don't understand shit!"

She closed her eyes, trying to push through the hurt and carry on.

"I understand that, I don't know what you've been through," she grabs his arm and forces him to look at her, "But I love you and I care about you and if you just talk to me,"

"Then what?! What?! We'll work through this, I'll forgive myself, and we'll go back to being the happy little engaged couple? No! My demon will always be here. ALWAYS. And no matter how much energy you absorbed from him, he will always be there. I killed…I FUCKING KILLED innocent people. There's no amount of magic in the world that's going to change that! I almost fucking killed you! I already killed someone I love once, isn't that enough? Is that what you want? You want me to kill you?!"

"Ichigo-kun no!" she cried, clutching on to his arm, shaking her head. "How can you say that?" He shook her off him.

"I knew this was a mistake," he muttered, walking away from her.

"Ichigo-kun, please,"

"Just…stay the hell away from me Orihime," he said without looking back.

She covered her mouth, trying to contain her sobs. Her tears overflowed from her hands, rolling off the leather material of her clothes.

Her heart constricted painfully in her chest. Every breath was like breathing in sharp, broken glass.

It hurt.

She fell to her knees, clutching her chest, her tears flowing endless down her face. Her orange braid fell off her shoulder, coiling on the ground.

"Ichigo…I love you …so…much," she cried to herself.

* * *

**Questions, Comments, and/or Concerns?**

**Up next: Nightmares**


	11. Nightmare on Elm Street

**Here's another chapter. I really hope you like it. **

**To Sacha: I know, I know, and they are soo perfect for each other. **

**To the rest of you, please read, review and enjoy!**

* * *

Ichigo awoke with a jolt.

His body was covered in sweat; his hair was plastered to his face. His breath was rapid.

He had that dream again, the one about his mother.

He's been having them every night since he moved out of the home he shared with Orihime.

Every night he's been tormented with those nightmares, those memories of years past.

He heard a movement in his room. It was hard to see, the only light being that of the quarter full moon and stars.

He saw bright orange hair and creamy pale skin.

"Orihime?" he asked, confused. She moved quickly to him, placing her small hand on his chest, shushing him. She wore white sleeping shorts and undershirt, her orange hair was loose and flowed over her shoulders, gracing her smooth skin.

"What are you doing here?"

"Shhhh," she shushed, straddling him.

She snaked her arms around his shoulders and covered his mouth with hers. She sucked on his bottom lip, her tongue caressing the flesh.

He was surprised for all of a second before he responded, licking her upper lip.

She gave a breathy moan into his mouth, delving her small tongue deeper into his mouth, pressing closer up against him.

He moved his arm up her body slowly, to encase her but met air.

He looked around, dazed and confused.

"Orihime?" he asked in the darkness.

She wasn't there.

It was a dream.

It was only a very beautiful, alluring dream.

He looks out of the window into the night sky.

He sees her. bloody, battered and broken.

She looks to him from the edge of the bridge, her bright orange hair blowing in the wind.

He sees himself, sneaking up behind her, Zangetsu posed to fight.

Ichigo reaches for her, panic filling his entire being.

He slices her from behind, she cries out, falling, toppling from the bridge, her hair a bright orange, fiery trail behind her.

"NOOOOO!" he screams he's forced awake from his nightmare.

His body was covered in a cold sweat, his heart beat erratic.

He dug the base of his palm into his sockets.

Now was as good of a time as any to work out.

oOo

* * *

"I have to say that I am very upset at the lack of progress we have with this case. The Noppera-bō is still out and about killing. Although the Ishida-sama has help tremendously in preventing the deaths, the casualties are still too high." Yamamoto deep voice boomed throughout the meeting room. "Inoue-san, have you learned anything more about this Noppera-bō? It has come to my knowledge that you have been attacked by her a few weeks ago."

She didn't look too well. Her normally shiny, luscious orange hair was frizzy and out of place. Her clothes were wrinkled, and there were dark bags underneath her eyes.

She looked haggard and tired, and completely exhausted.

And to be honest, he looked about the same.

"Eto…after she attacked me, I haven't had any run ins with her so…gomen, I have nothing to report." She said dejectedly.

"Orihime-nee, are you okay?" Rukia asked, her voice filled with concern. Orihime looked to her and failed to give her a reassuring smile.

"I just been having a little trouble sleep is all," she said softly.

Ichigo looked at her from across the table.

She looked worse than he felt. It's been 10 day since the break up and it seems as though neither of them were doing well.

But it hurt him like a physical pain to see her doing so badly.

"Are you sure she isn't somehow messing with you in your sleep?" Torshiro asked, he seemed unusually concerned.

"I'm sure, my bad night can be attributed to…something else," she looked to Unohana, who stared at Orihime with concern and something else. As if she knew the real reason behind her troubles.

"Have you and Kurosaki-san encountered anything else that seemed out of the ordinary?" he persisted.

"Hitsugaya-sama!" Yamamoto admonished.

Ichigo looked at the two. They seemed to be feuding about something that the rest of them aren't privy to.

Something that seemed to revolve around Orihime.

"What's going on gramps?" Ichigo demanded.

"Kurosaki, show your elders and your superiors some respect," Byakuya Kuchiki reprimanded him. Ichigo ignored him and look to Torshiro who was currently seething at Yamamoto.

"Oi, Torshiro, what's going on? What aren't you guys telling us?" he demanded.

Torshiro just continued to stare angrily at Yamamoto.

Suddenly, he stood and left the room, his turquoise scarf trailing behind him.

Ichigo was furious. What was going on that he didn't know about?

"I conclude that this meeting is over, Ishida-sama, could I speak with you for a moment?" The vampire merely inclined his head to indicate that he will oblige.

"Fuck no, this meeting isn't fucking over until someone fucking tells me what's going on!" Ichigo yelled, slamming his hands on the table.

"Calm down Kurosaki-san," Ukitake urged him.

"Don't tell me what to fucking do! Not until someone tells me what's going on!"

"Orihime-chan, do you mind if we speak together in private?" Unohana asked Orihime.

Orihime looked stricken; Ichigo could clearly see it on her face. He moves to say something to her, to ask her why she's doing so badly, but then she and Unohana both disappear in a plume of honey smelling smoke.

"Orihime…" he says more to himself than to anyone else.

"Ichigo-kun, so what's going on between you and Inoue-san?" Ikkaku asked. If Ichigo wasn't so concerned with Orihime, he would've thought the question to be out of character for Ikkaku, but his mind was elsewhere with the orange haired beauty who seemed extremely distressed.

"It's none of you fucking business," he grumbled, pushing away from the desk.

"Yeah, you two weren't sitting together. Is there trouble in paradise?" Yumichika questioned in a mocking tone.

"Fuck off," he growled, leaving the room. They followed behind him.

"Come on man, now's not the time for you two to be fighting. There's this spirit that is after your girl, shouldn't her safety be your number one priority," Ikkaku commented.

"Her safety is my number one priority!" he snarled pinning Ikkaku up against the wall. "Her safety is all I care about! I'm doing all I can to protect her! So stay out of my fucking business!"

Yumichika grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and threw him into the opposite wall, pinning him with an elbow to the throat.

"Hey! We're only concerned about you, so don't fucking snap at us because you can't do what you're supposed to do!" he spat at him.

Ichigo pushed him off of him, his eyes full of contempt and anger. He turned away from them and left.

Although he loathed admitting it, they were right.

The reason why Orihime looked so awful was because he couldn't do his job.

And he was pissed for it.

oOo

* * *

"Orihime-chan, its happening isn't it? The negative effects from all that energy? I can see it clearly in you aura. It's all muddled and murky and overall unhealthy." Unohana said gently, touching the girl's shoulder.

Orihime couldn't hold it in any longer. She threw herself into Unohana's shirt and cried.

"Onee-chan, it's bad. I'm constantly hearing voices telling me what to do, telling how weak and pathetic and disgusting I am. I hear them telling me to do things that I don't want to do. I hear them begging me to kill and destroy every night.

"It keeps telling me that Ichigo-kun left me because I'm weak and disgusting and a coward, and how it will be better if I just end my life. It wants to kill me. It wants me dead! Everyone wants me dead. I'm already dead inside; I should just be dead outside. I deserve to die. I need to die. The world would be a better place without me. I need to die. I need to die. I need to die. I need to die-"

"Orihime-chan, snap out of it!" Unohana shook her.

She wasn't breaking from her spell. Her aura was all murky and dark and sporadic. It was corrupted.

She waved her hand over the distressed witch and she fell into a deep unconscious. Slowly, her aura began to level out to its normal tone.

She carried her over to the table and set her down gently.

She was getting worse; her sanity was starting to slip. It was only a matter of time before she was consumed.

And there wasn't anything she could do to stop it.

oOo

* * *

Ichigo sat on the steps in front of Renji's apartment complex. What was going on? Why does it feel as if something bad is happening to Orihime? He could feel it in his heart that something was wrong, that something awful was happening to her.

More than anything he wanted to see what was going on with her.

_Just…stay the hell away from me Orihime_

But after how he treated her a few days ago…there's no way she would want to see him.

But she looked so bad…and he couldn't shake this feeling that something was horribly wrong.

"Hey," he jumped slightly, startled. Rukia had appeared next to him. "Wow, did I scare you?" she asked laughing.

"I don't get scared," he grumbled, scooting over to make more room for her.

She nestled her small body next to his, still laughing lightly.

"No, I'm pretty sure that you were frightened. The big bad yokai was scared by little ole me, I should be flattered," she joked, bumping playfully into his shoulder.

"Oh really?" he questioned, angling his body so he could get a better look at her.

"Yes, really," she replied teasingly.

Quicker than she could blink he was behind her, his arm around her neck. He leaned to her ear;

"Who's afraid of the big bad yokai now?"

"Not me," she said in a breathy whisper. He felt something cold on the back of his neck, out of his peripheral vision he saw something white and shiny.

It was a snow white sword.

"You have a sword?" he asked, releasing her.

"Yeah, doesn't everyone in the organization have one?" she asked.

"Normally, yes…Orihime doesn't have one though."

"Isn't that's because she doesn't have a killing instinct though?" She asked, sheathing her sword.

"Yeah…but she doesn't need one…when we first joined the organization together, I told her that she wouldn't need to have a killing instinct…that I would kill for her" he reminisced fondly. Rukia was quiet for a while.

"Ichigo-kun…why are you not with Orihime?" she asked gently.

He sighed, really not wanting to get into this right now.

"Rukia, no, Fuck! I wish that everyone would just let it go!"

"Ichigo-kun, it's not healthy for you to keep this all bottled up inside…it's poisonous to your health and your aura."

"I don't give a fuck about my aura, just leave it alone!" he growled at her. Her violet eyes flamed with anger.

"Rah!" she flew her arm out and sent him tumbling down the stairs.

"What the fuck!" he yelled at her.

"You know what Ichigo-kun? You make me sick with all this 'woe is me' crap." She flung her delicate hand up and he flew into the sky and fell hard on the ground. "I'm so tired of you being upset and depressed over Inoue-chan. If you miss her so much then go be with her, if not, then get a grip and get over it!" She slowly lifted him into the air, suspended a few feet off the ground.

"Rukia! Let me go! What the fuck, are you fucking insane?! Or just possessed?"

"Baka! How is someone who is possessed going to answer that question?" she barked as she flung him across the street. He crashed into a wall, his back in agony as he sat up.

"Oh so you're just being a bitch? Fine, I know how to deal with you." He summoned a small ball of destructive energy and fired at her, caught the ball and sent it back to him, the energy three times as strong.

It created a small explosion, he was barely able to doge it. He created another, a stronger one, and blasted it to her.

Once again she captured the ball of destructive energy and threw it back to him causing more destruction.

"Why are you doing this?!" he yelled at her.

"Because, you're already beating yourself up, why not join in on the fun?" she said, brandishing her sword.

She charged at him, he spun and doge it. She swiped her sword to the side, then thrusting upwards.

He evaded, thrusting a palm out and hitting her square in the back.

"Rukia stop, before I hurt you," he warned. She scoffed.

"Please, you mean that love tap? I'm a witch. Mistress of energy of manipulation, you can't hurt me," she said smugly, flipping in the air and landing on the side of the wall and pushing off, using the speed to charge towards him with her sword.

She stabs him in the shoulder. He lets out a grunt and staggers backwards, his blood dripping from his shoulder.

"Gyah! You fucking stabbed me!" he yelled at her.

"No shit Sherlock! Next it's in your gut," she flipped over him and swiped her sword behind him, intending to slice into his back.

He evaded, clutching his shoulder, the blood seeping through his fingers.

"Rukia, please, I don't want to hurt anyone else!" he yelled at her.

"Is that what's this is all about? The fact that you lost control and killed those girls?" she yelled at him.

"Those girls were innocent civilians, and friends of Orihime's. They knew me, they looked to me to save them…but I killed them! I killed them and I hurt Orihime…" memories of her falling to the ground, her bright orange hair a fiery trail behind her.

"…I watched her as she fell thirty feet from the sky to the ground!" he yelled at her, breathing heavily. "I couldn't control my inner demon; I couldn't protect her from him...from me!"

She raised her hand, he moved with it, and she slammed it down to the ground. She sped to him and pressed her sword against his throat.

"Well if you're not strong enough to defeat your demon then get stronger. Do something about it! Don't sulk about it and drag everyone else down with you. Don't hurt other people because of your own short comings. If you want this demon of yours controlled, then find some way to control him!

"In truth Ichigo-kun, you are weak. And your weakness disgusts me," she spat at him. "But it's not because you aren't strong enough to protect the ones that you care about, it's because when you fail, you shut down and run away from your problems without thinking of any solutions."

He growled, grabbing her sword and yanking her towards him. She fell on top of him; he flipped their positions and pinned her hard, on the ground, her head banging against the ground.

"She can't protect herself from me!" he snarled.

"She shouldn't have to! You should be strong enough where that isn't even a problem!"

He looked down, ashamed and downhearted.

"What if…what if I'm not strong enough?" he said in a small voice.

"To be honest Ichigo-kun, true power is finding the strength to deal with adversity and your problems instead of running away from them." She responded gently, giving him a small smile. "If you're not strong enough…then just become stronger."

He stared into her violet blue eyes that seemed to hold all of the answers. He searched those eyes for answers, the answers that he will need, and the answers that he so desperately wanted.

"I think its time I went on a trip."

oOo

* * *

Orihime sat at home, curled in a ball, rocking back and forwards.

That's when she felt it.

It was powerful, all consuming.

It was Ichigo and he was…at peace.

There was pain still in his heart, but it was at ease. He was finally beginning to heal.

She lifted her head from her arms, looking up. Deep dark bags marred her eyes. The dreams and voices in her head prevented her from gaining a good night's rest.

"Ichigo," she whispered into the empty house.

She closes her eyes and focus on his aura, praying that he's in a better mood.

The world melts around her, merging in with the surroundings of Renji's apartment complex.

"I think it's time I went on a trip," she heard his deep, husky voice. Her heart lightens, leaping for joy at the absence of sadness, guilt and self-loathing lacing his voice. She rounds the corner, the material of her short, long sleeve, wool dress brushing against her knees; strands of her sloppily made ponytails fell in her face.

She stops short when she sees that Ichigo is on top of Rukia, smiling down at her. She looks up at him, the look of pure adoration on her face, her smile bright and brilliant.

"And where would that be yokai-kun?" she asked playfully.

Orihime swallows thickly, tears burning in the back of her eyes, her heart pounds loudly in her ears.

"Just some place where I can become stronger, that way I wouldn't have to worry about hurting you or anyone else."

She covers her mouth to hide her sobs and her breaking heart. Her head pounded, as her vision became blurry. She quickly dissipated into smoke before either of them could sense her presence.

Back at home she collapsed on the couch, and began rocking back and forth. Her heart completely spent, she let the barrage of ill thoughts attack her and chip away at her soul.

In the window, across the room from where Orihime lied and let the darkness consume her, stood the Noppera-bō-Bo. She watched the tormented soul further drag herself into a deeper depression. Her soul and heart was almost completely shattered.

She saw no need to torment her anymore.

So she left.

oOo

* * *

"Ichigo? Ichigo what's up?" Rukia asked beneath him.

He got off her and looked in the direction he swore he felt her presence. He swore he saw a flash of bright orange hair.

"Orihime?" he asked the space quietly. His heart yearned to see her, to touch her skin, to feel her lips. His body yearned for hers and having been starved of it for over ten days.

"Orihime!" he called out louder. There was no answer. He must have been dreaming yet again.

He always dreams for her.

He felt Rukia next to him.

"Inoue-chan? Is she here?" she asked confused.

Ichigo continued to look at the direction when he was positive that he felt her. Maybe all this time apart was truly wreaking havoc on their bond.

"I guess not," he said quietly, turning to look back at Rukia. She cocked her head to the side and gave him a curious smile.

"What?" he asked only mildly annoyed.

"You're…not really from Japan…are you?" she asked.

"What? Of course I'm from Japan. I was born here in Karakura town." He turned from her and started up the steps. She followed close behind.

"Yeah…but you're different. For one, you don't really follow any of our customs and two, the way you talk and address everyone. Either you're entirely disrespectful or you're not really from here," she concluded.

He sighed.

"My mother was from America, California to be exact, and that's where I spent a majority of my childhood and some of college," he said with a shrug, as if it explained everything.

"Oh, well, that actually explains a lot." She said with a grin. "Were there a lot of yokai there as well?"

"More than I cared to deal with. But at least over there my inner demon wasn't so bad," he made it to Renji's apartment. Unlocking the door, he invited Rukia inside. He took off his shoes and made his way to the refrigerator.

Reaching in, he grabbed two canned juices.

"Why do you think that that happened?" Rukia asked, catching the juice that he tossed her.

He shrugged, popping the top and leaning against the counter.

"Could be that the monster have roots here in Karakura, could be that there's less spiritual energy in America…who knows," he responds shrugging again, gulping down that juice.

"You should probably bandage your shoulder," Rukia states quietly after a moment.

He looks to his shoulder, mild surprise on his face.

"Oh…well, it'll heal up soon on it's on. Probably overnight," he said.

"I know, but you should really patch it up. It can get infected," she insisted.

"Whatever, it'll be fine. I never had a problem with them before," he said. A strange sense of déjà vu overwhelmed him.

"Still, what can it hurt to patch it up?"

_But would it really be so bad if I just healed you, just this once?_

That's right! Before he and Orihime started dating, when they were only just friends.

_Ichigo had just fighting off a low level yokai. The bastard had managed to get him in his shoulder. The pain was minimal, although it didn't stop from being painful and annoying as hell. _

"_Kurosaki-kun! You're hurt!" Orihime exclaimed, her uniform skirt brushed against her thighs, her crisp, white, blouse hugged on to her curves tightly, her long orange hair an even longer orange braid, neatly tied down her back. _

"_It's fine, it's only a scratch. Come on, let's get you home," he said turning to walk away, knowing that she would follow. _

"_But Kurosaki-kun, if you don't take care of it, it can get infected!" she insisted, her large grey eyes wide and filled to the brim with worry. _

"_Don't worry. I'm yokai, I heal fast." _

"_But not fast enough! Please, let me heal you!"_

"_No, I don't need to be healed, it'll be alright."_

"_But would it really be so bad if I healed you just this once?" she pleaded. _

_He turned around and searched her eyes, looking to see if there was a way he could get out of this. _

_She has really big, really beautiful grey eyes. Never has he seen anyone, not even in America, with such beautifully colored eyes. There were people with light blue eyes, there were even people with grey eyes. _

_But there was no one with her exact shade…the tone that her eyes held…the innocence…_

_He found himself getting lost in those eyes. _

"_Fine," he found himself conceding, allowing her to heal him. _

_Her face lit up, a beautiful smile making her face more beautiful than he thought was possible. _

_His heart gave a startling pound in his chest._

_Reluctantly, the corners of his mouth lifted upwards into a small smile. _

He remembered that day clearly.

It was the day that he started having feelings for Orihime. It was weeks before he recognized them as such. Months before he acted on them.

God he missed her. He wanted her so bad…it hurt, like a physical pain it hurt.

Christ! It hurt more than his shoulder!

Speaking of which, he was shocked to find that Rukia had made her way towards him, a medical kit in hand.

She grabbed his shirt, ripping the torn material open further so that she could have easier access to his wounds.

She pursed her lips, cocking her head to the side as she too in his wound. It had frosted a bit in the inside sans it's the power of her sword.

She moved her hand over the wound and a fresh pain surged through him. He winced slightly.

"Gomen, but I needed to get rid of the frost bite," she said, searching the kit for something to clean his wound.

"It's okay," he said gently, watching as she continued her ministrations.

He loved to watch Orihime as she healed him. It was so intimate and her attention was focus solely on him. There weren't a lot of times when Ichigo felt protected and safe…

But when she was healing him…he was able to let his guard down…he allowed himself to feel protected as he once did when he was a child…before his mother was murdered…he felt safe…and when he's being healed by Orihime …

…he feels safe again.

Rukia gently wipes his bloodied skin, cleaning the bruise, lacerated area. She placed a bandaged on it, taping the white gaze on to his skin.

"There," she said proudly, patting the wound gently, "all better." She looked up into his eyes, her voice failed her as her heart rate began to speed up.

He looks down at her, questioningly.

Her eyes widen as she realizes that she's staring. She jumps back from him, as if he's burned her.

"Oh! Wow! Well, um…yeah…you're all better now." She stumbles around in her speech, embarrassed.

He rotates his shoulder, stretching it.

"Yeah, it's much better, thanks Rukia," he states, pushing off the counter, tossing his empty drink into the trash.

"So," she asks, trailing slowly behind him," what are you going to do now?"

He collapses on the couch, a deep sigh escaping him.

"Well first…I'm going to take a nap," he said with a smirk. "Next…I'm going to call Urahara, see if he can find someone who can help me."

"Someone like who?"

"Like Shinji Hirako."

* * *

**Questions, Comments and/or Concerns?**

**Up Next: Paranormal Activity**


	12. Paranormal Activity

**Hey guys, here is another chapter for I personally feel is my favorite story. **

**Yes that is right, out of all of my babies, this one is my fave. That doesn't make me a bad mother!**

**To Sacha: Yes, Rukia is the queen of bitch slapping you out of your funk-ness. **

**To: Chuain: Hey, you're reading my other story as well! Super cool beans! As for your question, Ichigo is a yokai which is why the witches have no qualm about using their powers on him he heals quickly, however, most of the Ichigo is deserving of a beating because of his personality. Witches, with the exception of Orihime because she is a half witch, have short tempers. Something to do with manipulating dark energy, If anyone were to make them angry, they would use their powers on them, not just Ichigo, he, having a short temper as well, just happens to know how to push their buttons. **

**To the rest of you, Read, Review and Enjoy!**

* * *

Ichigo is tiered. He's completely exhausted. Last night by, far, was the absolute worst night of his entire life.  
He came to Urahara shop seeking solace and advice and help to deal with his inner demon.

Instead, he was teased mercilessly, he was interrogated about his relationship with Orihime, and he was beaten.

Otherwise it was a normal trip to Urahara.

However, he had a nightmare about Orihime. She was different.

It wasn't the one about his demon appearing from behind her and striking her down.

This one was about her killing people, hurting innocents…killing him.

He couldn't stop her. She was evil, she had turned into a monster…

Like her mother.

The worst part of it all being that he had to kill her. Kill her or let her continue to destroy people…

Destroy herself.

It was a nightmare unlike any other. It had felt so real…as if it was actually happening.

It scared him.

It shook him deep into his bones. Deep into his very soul, his very core.

He was frightened for his insanely beautiful fiancée.

Correction, his insanely beautiful ex-fiancée.

He shuffles out of the guest room in Urahara shop, the soft wood creaking beneath his weight.

He slides the door to the entrance of the shop and steps outside. The cold, crisp air is refreshing. It cools his body as he fully immerses himself outside.

He closes his eyes and focuses on her.

He can clearly feel their bond although hers seems a bit disturbed, she's still there.

It's only 3 in the morning, he's pretty sure that Orihime is sleep.

Yesterday was Sunday so she's probably wearing the light pink short silk set pajamas. She has her pajamas arranged for what night she would wear them. It was one of her many little quirks that he found so damned endearing about her.

He bets that she's clutching a pillow, like how she used to clutch on to him. Nuzzling her face in his chest…snoring softly, pressing her soft body tightly against his til the point where there is no space left between them.

He missed the fact that when she lied next to him, all of his nightmares were banished someplace far away from him.

He loved her.

And that was the problem.

He loved her too much.

He didn't think it was possible to love someone as much as he loved her. But here he was, almost willing to risk her safety for his selfish motivations.

But Rukia has put some things in perspective for him.

It was obvious now that he can't function without her at his side.

He was basically dead, and if he died, then who would protect her?

No, he needed go get stronger, he needed to get his demon under control.

He needed to see her before he left.

oOo

* * *

Kenji was happily in love with his Rin. They have been dating for three months now, and it was finally his favorite month, October. The month of ghouls, ghost, witches, yokai and other various monsters.

He loved being scared, he loved scaring other people. It was just something about the act of fear that got his gears turning.

He slung his arm around his girlfriend, pulling her close. She giggles, batting his chest playfully as she pulled the keys to her apartment out of her purse, sliding it into the lock and twisting it.

She opens her door and is horrified by why she sees.

There's blood and gore everywhere, intestines, mangled pieces of hearts, stomachs and other internal organs scattered about. Dark red blood painted the walls and covered the floor. The stench of death hung in the air and clung to the furniture and curtains.

"AAAAHHHHHHHHHH KAMI WHYYYYY?!" she releases a piercing scream. Vomit threatened to choke her to a painful death as these people must have faced.

Kenji grabs her, closing the door. It obviously wasn't safe here, who knows, that psychopathic murderer could still be out there, loose, waiting for her to come home and discover the carnage.

"Come on Rin, we need to get out of here. Now," he demanded, grabbing her hands. He led her away from her apartment, and dragged her down the street, racking his brain for where they could go.

Obviously his place was out of the question.

They obviously didn't know anything about the perp, he could be waiting in his apartment, or any of their friends' homes for them. Their best bet was a hotel.

He pulled out his phone and searched for the nearest hotel.

Rin, on the other hand, was having a complete and total breakdown.

So much blood. There was so much blood, everywhere! Her entire home was covered in the red goop.

Who could've done that?! Why?! Why would someone do something so horrible? Who would kill so many people?! In her own home?!

She was disgusted and horrified and she wanted to leave Karakura immediately. She wanted to leave Japan immediately.

She felt herself being pulled roughly by her boyfriend. She didn't have a clue as to where they were going, she was only grateful that he took charge because she was certain that she would have been rooted to the spot at that horribly gruesome scene.

They made it to a nearby convenience store that was still opened. They ducked inside, Rin began to panic.

"What are we doing here?! We should still be running!" she screamed at him, her panic bubbling up out of her and her fear drowning her.

"We need to call the police and also a cab. We can't make it to the hotel on foot, and from the looks of it, we need to go across town," he assured her, only mild fear leaked into his voice.

Instantly, she felt herself calm down just a bit. Kenji was here, he would protect her.

She moved closer to him, clutching his arm tightly. It was then that she noticed that she was trembling.

"Hello, police? There is, what looks like a massacre in my girlfriend's apartment. It looks like a few people were brutally murdered."

He ran his hands through his hair looking around. He saw a figure through the clouded glass doors of the convenience store. He squinted and made out the figure of a girl in a school uniform.

The whole world around him began to pulsate. He could hear his heart beat loudly in his ears.

Suddenly, he felt an enormous wave of nausea and exhaustion overwhelms his body. He could faintly hear the operator on the line speaking to him, asking him questions.

His body became sluggish and hard to control; he couldn't really feel any sensations. He felt dizzy and disembodied.

He was cold. So very cold.

He tried speaking, but his mouth wouldn't move.

Actually, nothing that he wanted to move would move.

He heard him speaking back to the operator, yet it wasn't him.

It was as if he was being possessed.

"Also…they murdered my girlfriend as well."

oOo

* * *

Orihime ran, she ran as fast a she possibly could from the evils that could harm her, that wanted to hurt her.

When she couldn't run anymore, she started to fight them. Her magic wasn't working. She had to use hand to hand combat, but there was too many of them. There were too many.

She felt them begin to consume her, feasting on her flesh as well as her soul.

She screamed.

She jolted awake as she felt a pair of strong hands wrap around her shoulders, shaking her from her dreams, a familiar husky voice call her name.

She blink into the darkness, her vision adjusting to the moon lit room.

She wild orange hair.

"Ichigo…?" she whispered into the darkness.

Please Kami, not again! She was certain that she couldn't handle another illusion about him. Those have been frequent and every time left her feeling hallow and empty.

"Yes Orihime, it's me," he whispered in the darkness.

She closed her eyes, certain that this was another hallucination. She should just let the darkness take her once more, it always took her mind off of him.

"Please…just let me be, for once…for tonight just let me be…" she whimpers, unable to take the mental strain this illusion will bear on her mind.

"Orihime…" he sounded hurt.

He released her, moving to set on the edge of the bed. He ran his hands through his spikey orange hair, giving a deep sigh. That's when she noticed that he was shirtless, only wearing some red and black plaid pajama bottoms.

"I guess I deserve that. I did tell you to stay away from me and all. Yet…here I am, in pajamas, at three in the morning…because…because I had to see you before I left," he sighed.

Her eyes snapped opened.

Dream Ichigo never said anything like that, never said that he was leaving.

She felt for their bond that they shared…this was the real Ichigo…this was really him!

Her heart surged.

The love of her life, her heart, her soul…the man that she's been going crazy over…

He was here.

Here, in their home, in their room.

She wanted to cry.

To curl in his lap, hold on to him tightly and never let go ever again.

But he said that he was leaving?

"What do you mean?...Are you…are you going somewhere?" she asks quietly and hesitantly. She shifted so that she was sitting up, her knees to her chest her back up against the pine wood headboard. She stared at the back of his head, studying his hair. It was damp, as if he taken a shower, or was sweating.

"Yeah…I'm going to Kyoto for a few days…I'm going to do something about this demon…inside of me…I want to make sure that he doesn't hurt anyone…that I don't hurt anyone ever again…That I don't hurt you…ever again," he said with a quiet confidence.

She felt her heart balloon in her chest as happiness swelled within her.

"_Just some place where I can become stronger, that way I wouldn't have to worry about hurting you or anyone else."_

Oh yeah, Rukia was the one who cheered him up.

Rukia.

She pulled him out of his funk.

She was the real reason he was going to control his inner demon.

She was strong enough to fight him.

She and Ichigo made perfect sense together.

Orihime was only a burden.

"Oh," she commented sadly as her heart fully deflated.

"Yeah, I just…I really didn't want to leave without seeing you," he said knotting his hands together in his lap.

"Oh," that's all she could say. She didn't really believe. He probably felt some obligation for what they use to mean to each other.

But, dear Kami, she really wanted to be near him. She really wanted to forget all of her troubles pretend that they're the happy little couple once again.

"Orihime…I miss you," he confesses.

She takes a sharp intake of breath. She was not expecting this.

"I know that I told you stay away…and I…I was a complete ass for what I said to you last week. I'm sorry, but I was just trying to cover up my own feelings and I did it the wrong way and I came off like this complete jerk and I-"

Before he could finish she had crossed the bed and wrapped herself against his back, her forehead pressed against his neck, her thighs alongside his. She wrapped her arms tightly around his chest.

What was she thinking that he and Rukia would be perfect together?

He loves her. She can feel it. He loves her.

And is there really any doubt that she loves him?

She feels her heart begins to beat in tune with his.

He reaches up and places his hand on her forearm, an insane amount of relief coursing through him.

Finally, after weeks of this, it felt like he was finally complete.

Like the missing piece to the puzzle that was him, the most important, largest piece of the puzzle, was finally back where it belong.

He was whole again.

"I missed you too," she murmured against his neck. Strong shivers raced down his back, lighting matches along his spine. He could feel the reaction in his very core.

She places a light kiss in the center of the back of his neck. He felt the warmth from that kiss immediately in his groin.

She kissed him a few more times; he fights to hold back a groan.

He turns his head, angling so that he's able to meet her lips. He reaches a hand up to caress her face, opening his mouth wider to better consume her.

She brought her own soft, delicate hands to his face, touching her nose to his. They moved their lips together.

He shifted, lifting off the bed. Never breaking contact, he pushed her back on the bed, crawling on top of her.

He was right. She was wearing her pink silk short set pajamas. He reaches up to her shirt and rips it apart, sending the rosebud pink buttons flying everywhere.

He smiled into the kiss as she gasped, running his hand through her long, orange tresses.

He released her lips and traveled down the side of her face, to the crook of her neck, softly nipping the thin skin.

Throwing her head back, she releases a moan, her hands traveled down his bare back, the touch of his bare flesh exciting her.

He continued his assault on her skin, making nips along her neck down to her cleavage area. Her breath hitches, she digs her nails into his back.

"Oh Kami…Ichigo," she pants breathlessly. "I…I really…misses…this," she struggles through her sentence.

"You can't possibly miss this…" he murmured in her chest, "more than I missed this," he placed a large, wet kiss in the valley of her breasts.

Her hands trailed up to his hair as she wrapped her legs around him, moaning his name softly.

He moved a hand to her shoulders, pushing the remainder of her shirt off her.

She consumed his mouth, her tongue caressed his lips, she rolled her hips into his. He grinned.

"Impatient are we," he mumbled against her skin, smiling.

He moved to her exposed breasts, her pink peaks stood to attention to greet him. Her kissed around the areoula of one while kneading the other in the hand, tweaking the peak between his fingers.

She groans, her eyes rolling to the back of her head. Her hands tighten in his hair, pulling his head closer to her breasts.

His teeth graze her nipple and she bites down hard on her lower lip drawing blood.

He moves his attentions to her other breast, performing the same actions.

She feels herself coiling tighter and tighter, her mind in all sorts of different directions.

She could feel his erection clearly through his pants and hers.

He was as ready for her as she was for him.

Her hands moved down to his pants, tugging them down as far as she could reach.

She could feel his piping hot member against her clothed thigh. He chuckled at her impatience, placing kisses along her breasts, rolling his hips against hers causing her to shudder and melt beneath his fingers.

He moves back up to her mouth, forcing it to open wider as he delved his tongue deeper into her mouth, drinking her in, licking the blood from her lips from when she bit too hard.

His hands slides down to her shorts, cupping her firm buttock and squeezing the firm flesh through her clothes, massaging the area.

He tugs down her pants, she squirms beneath him, kicking her short off.

She wrapped her legs around him, her breaths heavy and hard, she tried her hardest keep from groaning in frustration as she pulled his hair, her teeth nipping his lips.

He positioned himself above her. Breaking contact with her mouth he looks her in her wanting grey eyes.

"…Orihime…" he says breathlessly, "I love you…" he pants. She moans, a smile fights through her lust and settles on her face. Her heart swells and a sharp shard of happiness ingrains itself in her soul.

"…I-Ichigo…I love…you…too," she grunts.

Slowly, he enters her. She arches her back violently as he begins to stretch her, she feels as though she's being ripped at the seams. She cries out, her digits coiling his hair tightly to the point in which it feels as though it would be ripped out from the roots.

He didn't wait for her to adjust; he began to move his hips in rolling motions, pushing her up and down on the large bed.

His hands grasp her firm butt, his fingers digging into her soft skin, lifting her up for deeper penetration.

She, to the best of her ability with her butt in the air, moved her hips along with his thrusts.

As they neared their climaxes, they began to move faster, harder.

His hand reached down to her vaginal entrance and began to finger her bundle of nerves.

She squealed, digging her nails into his scalp, all of the muscles in her body clenching and coiling tightly. She could feel the pressure inside of her building, taking her higher and higher. The only thing she wanted to do was scream out, she moved harder against him.

He moved viciously against her, pounding harder and harder, moving, not only her, but also the bed.

He growls as he feels the pressure building up inside of him, he can feel her muscles clenched tightly around his member as she nears her climax. He feels her juices pour from out of her onto his fingers as he pinches and tweaks her bundle of nerves.

She made hitching sounds as she climbed higher and higher, he knew that her climax was only moments away.

A blinding white light engulfed her, her muscles all screamed at her as intense waves of pleasure rolled over her, drowning her in ecstasy.

Every single door in the house slammed shut, the windows cracked. Ichigo felt his skin on his face rip open hot blood dripped down his face.

He kept moving in her, prolonging her orgasm for a minute or two before he spilled his seed into her. Thick, white, long ropy strings of semen poured into her as his body tensed and then released.

He collapsed on her; their heavy pants filled the air.

After a few minutes, he exited her body and rolled over to the side of her, the air cooling both of their sweating bodies.

Ichigo collected her into his arms and pulled her close, nuzzling her neck. She giggled, a content sigh escaping her.

"You know…I really love you," he murmured into her neck, lying sweet gentle kisses on the treated skin.

"Not as much as I love you," she replied, sleep lulling over her.

"No," he said kissing her jaw. He made his way to her lips, "I love you more."

She giggled, trying and failing to fight against the sleep. He could hear it in her voice that she was tired. In all honesty he was tired as well. Neither of them have had a good night's sleep in weeks, and he was certain that in the week to come, he wouldn't be sleeping very well either.

"Go to sleep," he ordered her. She nestled her body closer against his. He pulled the sheet over the both of them and wrapped his arm around her body, holding her close.

She made a happy sound, and soon sleep overcame her.

He fell asleep to the sounds of her soft snores.

It was the best sleep that either of them had in weeks.

oOo

* * *

Ichigo awoke to the sunlight streaming through the curtains. He stretched, yawning silently.

Finally, after two weeks, he was able to sleep without being plagued with nightmares. He turned to the body nestled against his and smiled. His face was sore, he remembered the cuts on his face that she hadn't healed. Due to his yokai powers, they should have scabbed over by now, but they were still sore and stiff.

Speaking of stiff…

Yeah…waking up naked next to a beautiful naked woman will do that to you.

He gently pried her off him, adding extra pillows to cushion her as he left the bed.

He walks to the shower, and turns on the cold water, letting it run over his body, seeping into his skin, washing all of yesterday's woes with it.

He looks around the shower for his shampoo. It dawns on him that although he took a majority of his things, like his soap, shampoo, and razors, he still expected some of his things to be around. It was just so easy to fall into the same old routines.

He looks around for anything to wash his hair with and spots Orihime's strawberry shampoo. A scowl forms on his face.

Of all the things she could possibly use to wash her hair.

Because of the word play on his name, he vehemently avoided anything to do with strawberries.

Unfortunately for him, he had to go and fall in love with someone whose favorite fruit of all time is strawberries. She was like a woman obsessed. And this obsession started long before they'd even met, so it was too late to kick her of her habit.

Groaning in frustration he grabbed the bottle of shampoo and used it to wash his hair, the scent unconsciously bringing a smile to his face. It was the exact scent that he's smelled for years whenever he was around the bodacious orange haired woman. He could associate the smell with someone whom he loves irrevocably and thus makes it bearable to wear.

When he was done with his shower, he found some clothes that he left behind, a pair of dark wash jeans and a black collared shirt.

Orihime was still sound asleep.

He decided that he would make her breakfast.

He went down to the kitchen and made miso soup, natto, nori, tamagoyaki, broiled fish and rice.

She was still sleep when he was done.

Well, it was only 8.

So he set the food on a bed table, and wrote her a note. He didn't want to wake her, yet he couldn't wait around for her to wake up because he should be at Uraharas by now.

He leans over her and plants soft kisses on her forehead, eye lids and nose.

He steals a kiss from her soft lips for good luck with his journey.

oOo

* * *

"He-ey, looks who finally decided to show up," Urahara smiles lazily at Ichigo, waving his fan around, his seemingly dingy green robe slightly opened revealing a light blonde hairy chest.

Yoruichi draped her arms around his neck, purring like a cat in his ear, capturing his lower lobe in her teeth.

"Could you guys please get a room?" Ichigo groaned, stalking up the stairs to the shop.

"Well that's no fun," Yoruichi smirks, rubbing her face against Uraharas. "Besides, we all know that you snuck out last night to get one in before you had to leave," she purred.

Ichigo became as red as a tomato. He fumbled and stuttered through his speech.

"Enough Yoruichi-chan, leave him be. If he wanted to have sex one last time, who are we to judge?" Urahara said with a shrug.

"Could we please talk about something else other than my sex life?!" Ichigo growled.

"Now, now, don't be shy. You're a healthy young man with needs and desires. It's understandable that you would want to…release yourself…" Urahara smirked.

"I'm serious you guys, quit it."

Yoruichi sniffed the air. She detangled herself from Kisuke and slinked over to Ichigo sniffing him.

She covered her mouth, a huge grin on her face and began to giggle uncontrollably.

"You smell like a giant strawberry!" she collapsed on the floor laughing.

"Really?" Urahara stood to attention. He made his way Ichigo and took a big whiff. "Wow Ichigo, don't you think that you're taking yourself a bit too seriously?"

"GOD! You guys are assholes!" he groaned, seriously regretting using the shampoo to wash his hair.

"Okay, okay," Urahara said sobering up. "Let's get down to business."

oOo

* * *

10 years ago

"Oni-san, where are we going?" Orihime asked, clutching her brother's hand.

"I was thinking that I take you to the carnival. You've been doing so well at school, I think you've earned yourself a treat," he said, swinging their arms back and forth.

"THE CARNIVAL?! WE'RE GOING TO THE CARNIVAL?!" she shouted excitedly, jumping up and down.

He laughed, patting her head.

"Oh! Oni-san! First, I want to ride the carousel, and then the Ferris wheel, then, I want to go to the haunted house, and then-"

"Whoa, slow down, you don't want to tire yourself out before we even make it there," he laughed.

"Give me your money!" Sora and Orihime snapped their attention towards the man.

He wore a dark brown trench coat and a dirty blue cap that shielded his eyes. Short brown hair stuck out from underneath the hat. He had an SW SD9 VE pointed at them, a jittery shake possessed him.

"Your money! Now!" he screams at them. Sora moves in front of Orihime, his hands in front of him.

"Oi, okay, I'll give you my money…just please…don't shoot," he pleaded the man, reaching into his suit pocket for his wallet.

The man looked around, his eyes landing on Orihime. She cowered behind her brother, tears welling in the corner of her eyes.

"Hey, looky here, come on out beautiful, I won't hurt you," he smiled sleazily. She clutched her brother's jacket, ducking her head down.

"OI! You want money? Here," Sora tossed the man his money. "Now go and leave us be," he stated, moving so that he completely blocked the man's view of Orihime.

"Not until the little girlie over there say goodbye," the man smirked, swaying slightly. It became apparent to them that he was a bit drunk.

"No, we've already gave you our money, now please sir, let us go." Sora said sternly.

"Oi! Do you want me to shoot you?" he shouted at them waving the gun.

"Leave my sister alone," Sora seethed.

"You know what? I think I'll just shoot you!" the man said, squeezing the trigger.

"NOOOO!" Orihime shouted, flinging her hands to the side. The man flew with the action, slamming into the nearby wall.

"What the fuck?!" the man yelled. "Is she a fucking witch?!" Orihime body drenched in cold fear. Being yokai and a witch wasn't something that everyone was okay with. With all of the negative press that they've been receiving over the years, plus their tendency to go ballistic and kill everyone. People hated the supernatural. Not that she could blame them, but if she was found out, her life would be hell.

"Orihime, go home now!" he shouted at her. She nodded, fully prepared to listen to her brother, but then she heard the man getting up.

"NO, no fucking way. I'm going to kill this bitch before she kills half the town!" the man shouted, searching for his gun.

Orihime panic, fear consumed her. She turned around, her eyes glowing.

"NO!" she shouted, lifting her hand to the man. A pink ball of destructive energy formed in her hand.

"Orihime, no! remember what I told you about hurting humans!" he brother shouted to her.

"No Oni-san, this man deserves to die, he was going to shoot us, he was going to shoot you!" she shouted, pouring more energy into the ball.

"Orihime, NO! you promised! You promised me that you wouldn't ever hurt humans!"

"Gomen, Oni-san. He must be destroyed!"

"Orihime, NO!" he shouted, running in front of the man just as she released the ball.

It struck him in the chest, a large hole of charred flesh and smoke.

"SORA! ONI-SAN!" she screamed, all of her destructive energy dissipating from her all at once.

She ran to him, the man who'd tried to kill them scrambled to his feet and ran away, fear cloaking him.

She knelt down next to Sora, his body was quaking vehemently as it began to shut down.

"Sora, Sora, Gomenasai! Gomenasai Sora! I didn't mean for this to happen! Gomenasai, I really didn't mean to hurt you!" she screamed, choking on her own tears.

"O-O-Ori…hi…me…" his eyes dulled to nothing as his life left him. Orihime felt his spirit leave his body, her connection to him fade into nothing.

"NOOOO!" she screamed. She tried healing him, but she wasn't strong enough, she wasn't trained enough. "Sora please! PLEASE!" she begged him.

"SORA!"

oOo

* * *

Orihime awoke gently, stretching her arms to the bare most extent that she could. Her knuckles gently grazed a bowl.

She opened an eye and spotted a tray full of food beside her. A smile graced her lips.

Ichigo.

His name brought a smile to her lips. She sat up, careful not to disturb the tray.

She spotted a note.

_Orihime, _

_I'm sorry that I couldn't wait around until you woke up, and you were sleeping so peacefully that I couldn't wake you. _

_I've made breakfast for you, I hope you don't eat it cold. _

_I should be back in a week, my inner demon fully under control. And then…then we can truly be together, without fear of me hurting you. _

_That is, if you'll still have me. _

_Always know, that I love you. And more. _

_Ichigo. _

Orihime smiled at the note, bringing it to her lips for a kiss.

She then turns her attention to the food and devoured it, squealing in delight, squirming around happily in the bed.

She munched happily on the grub, looking around. She saw the clock on the wall and nearly fell out of the bed.

It was Monday and it was eight o 'clock!

She was late for school!

She scrambled and hurried to take a shower, throwing on whatever clothes that she could find in the closet.

Fully and messily dressed, she rushed outside to the elementary school where she worked.

As she rounded the corner, she felt an invisible force propel her back. She was sent flying a few feet in the air, landing hard on the ground.

The invisible force followed her, attacking her, swarming around her like a hive of bees.

She fought the invisible force, but it quickly became known that the invisible force that she was fighting was herself.

She could feel the dark energy attacking her. It was strong and powerful. It seeped into her mind, past the defenses that she built, attacking her at her core.

She writhed on the ground, her body shuddering with the effort.

Nothing she was doing was working. She realized that she would have to dig deep within herself to ward off this energy.

"Hey miss, are you alright?" she heard a male's voice near her.

She tried to ward him off, to protect him from this negative energy that was attacking her and would, subsequently, attack him as well.

"Wait, what the hell? What the hell is going on?" she could hear the pain and panic in his voice. She knew that she was harming the man, her power were spiraling out of control.

"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!" he screamed. She couldn't see what was going on. She went deeper into herself, deeper into her soul. It was impossible to expel this dark energy from her for good. But maybe she could lock it away, contain in a way that it would never be released ever again.

"Orihime-chan!" she heard Rangiku shout her name. she could faintly feel her presence.

It was close then it disappeared and then reappeared. She must have taken the man to a safer location. That was perfect, now she could fully focus on containing all of this dark energy.

What is that?

She was jolted back into her body, inhaling loudly and powerful. She sat up, her grey eyes wide.

Rangiku was kneeling beside her, holding on to her shoulder, her own blue eyes wide with worry.

"Orihime-chan! Are you okay? I felt that energy…it was so dark it was scary!" she exclaimed.

"Rangiku!" she interrupted her, not hearing what she said.

"Where did all of that dark energy come from? It was powerful! It was dangerous!"

"Rangiku," she tried again, she really needed her to listen.

"What, what is it Orihime?"

"I…I'm…I…" Rangiku looked at her, her eyes scanning her checking her for damage. She gasped as realization dawn on her. It would be as clear as day to any of her sisters. It was a mirecal that she just noticed.

"I'm pregnant."

* * *

**Yeah, so remember her visit at the office?**

**Comments, Questions and/or Concerns?**

**Up Next: Resident Evil**


	13. Resident Evil

**Wow, so many reviews for this chapter =.. Okay, **

**To Sacha: Let my stories be a unhealthy obsession. Feast, FEAST! MY DEAR! and enjoy your fill on this chapter. **

**To Chuain: I shall always respond to any questions you might have, and I thank you a million times for asking them and expressing your opinion And trust me, unless someone is evil, there will always be a reason for when some one is attacked. I'm glad you liked that part about Sora, I felt that it was weird when I wrote it, I'm glad it wasn't. **

**To Magdelena: Yes, you called it. **

**To Eragon, I'm glad you like it so far, I hope to keep your attention. **

**To Hichigolovr: Glad to see you're reading this story as well! I hope you like this one as much as the other one. **

**To the rest of you: Read, Review, and Enjoy!**

* * *

Rukia was officially freaking out.

She couldn't get Ichigo out of her mind.

His eyes, his strong body, his lips…

"Urgh!" she closed her eyes tightly, shanking her head vigorously.

No, no, no! This was all wrong. This was so wrong in so many ways!

Yeah, Ichigo looked a lot like Kaien, but he wasn't him. He wasn't Kaien!

So why?! Why?!

Why did she feel the urge to hold on to him tightly the other day?'

Why did she like the way his body felt when it was pressed against hers?

He belonged to another and so did she! Why was her heart lying to her? why did it feel a need to hurt others, and her. She couldn't let this go on. She needed to stop these feelings.

No matter how much he looked like Kaien, he was him! He's not Kaien!

He not's Kaien!

Kaien has been dead for years! Ichigo isn't even old enough to be Kaien's reincarnate. So why, why was she so desperate to believe that this man could be him? why did she want him to be him so bad?

She had feelings for Renji, albeit they weren't very deep, they were still there.

She felt herself fall for him more and more each and every day.

But she felt herself fall for Ichigo much quicker.

He wasn't Kaien. He wasn't Kaien. He wasn't Kaien.

He is not Kaien.

She would not give in to temptation.

She would not hurt anyone.

oOo

* * *

Ichigo has never been so frustrated in his entire life.

"Sutoroberī-san, you're not running fast enough!"

"Sutoroberī-san, you're lifting that all wrong!"

"Sutoroberī-san!, you need to move faster!"

"Sutoroberī-san! How do you expect to tire yourself out with such trival effort?"

"Sutoroberī-san, do you call that sweating?! My grandmother sweats harder than that passing a gall stone!"

"Sutoroberī-san! For the last time, run faster!"

"GYAH!" he yelled as he tripped over a rock, landing face first in the sandy ground.

"Sutoroberī-san, you're going to have to do better than that." Shinji Hirako, the source of Ichigo's woes commented, sitting leisurely in the bleachers, megaphone in hand.

"FOR THE LAST FUCKING TIME! MY NAME IS ICHIGO!" he shouted, ready to rip the guys stomach and shove it back up his ass.

"That's what I said, Sutoroberī," Shinji snickered, barely able to contain his laughter. But what did the guy expect. He comes there, smelling like a giant strawberry with the name Ichigo. There was bound to be repercussions. Albeit, Shinji might be taking it a tad far, however, he was allowed, given the circumstances.

"GYAH! ALRIGHT!" Ichigo sped to where the boy was siting on the bleachers, yanking him up by his collar. "If you call me Sutorberi one more time-"

"Oi! Keep running!" shouted Hiyori Sarugaki, throwing her sandal at Ichigo's head, her aim true.

He flew off Shinji, tumbled down the bleachers and landed hard on the sandy ground, inhaling a mouthful of dirt.

"You midget…I'll kill you," he groaned.

"Geez, how long has he been running around this track? A day?" Love Aikawa asked, looking at Ichigo on the ground.

"Yeah, he's been running for a full 16 hours. You'd think that he would have been past exhaustion," Shinji commented.

"This is taking too long. We're going to have to do something else, I don't have my entire life to waste on this!" Hiyori grumbled.

"What exactly do you propose that we do Hiyori-chan?"

Frightfully high levels of dark energy surrounded her, cloaking her in its massive power. Her light brown eyes darken to a golden color, her teeth and nails sharpened to fine points. Her short sandy blonde hair burst from the child-like pig tails, lighting to a platinum color and falling a few inches past her shoulders.

"We kill him."

oOo

* * *

Orihime was dreaming.

She knew she was dreaming because nothing felt real. Everything was too bright.

She was in a field full of freshly bloomed cherry blossoms. There was a sound of a rushing river not too far away.

She smile, walking through the river as she came across a bench covered in fallen blossoms.

On the bench sat a little girl with long black hair that fell over her shoulder, her back turned to Orihime.

Slowly, Orihime approached the girl.

"Ohayo," she called a greeting out to the little girl.

Slowly, the girl turned around.

Orihime's hands flew over her mouth to contain her gasp.

She took a few steps towards the little girl, who could be no older than 5.

"Ohayo…mama."

Orihime jolted from her dream. A smile on her face as she wrapped her arms around her stomach. She turned to her right and gently nudged a sleeping Rangiku.

"Oh Gin, I'm too tired. Go ahead and start without me," she grumbled. Orihime tried again.

"Gomen, but, Onee-chan! I had the dream! I had the dream where I met her!" she whispered excitedly, barely able to contain her joy.

Rangiku blue eyes cracked open as she looked at Orihime, a smile tugging across her face.

Her ecstasy at being pregnant was contagious. It radiated from her aura like sunlight, infecting everyone within a one mile radius. It was impossible not to be happy for her.

She stretched the full length of her body, her muscles pulling and tugging.

"So, you're having a daughter?" Rangiku yawned. Orihime nodded fitfully.

"Yes! And she's beautiful! She has Ichigo-kun's eyes, and black hair, and the most breath-taking smile!" tears formed in the expectant mother's eyes. "I can't wait to meet her," she said softly, rubbing her still flat stomach. She was only three weeks along, but she could feel her little witchling inside of her.

"Wow," Rangiku yawned, sitting up, the blanket fell off her revealing her to be in only her bra and panties. "You got your dream way before Yoruichi and Unohana had theirs. I think they were…what? 3-4 months?" she asked. She looked down at her own flat stomach. "I hope not to have mines for a couple of years," she laughed, patting Orihime on her back quite hard.

Orihime became solemn, looking out the window into the rising sun.

"I'll be honest Onee-chan. I never really enjoyed being a witch much…with my mother being who she is…and what I did to my Oni-san," a sad smile splayed upon her face. "But this…I think that this makes it all worthwhile…I get a chance to meet my daughter before she's expected…and she's beautiful…" a tear slipped from her eye, rolled down her check and fell onto the plush comforter.

Rangiku moved to wrap her arms around Orihime, but tickled her to the point where she moved to the end of the bed and promptly fell off instead.

Orihime struggled to regain her breathing, her face red, her abdominal muscles clenched in pain. She looks up to the large bed, seeing her best friend standing, her hands balled in tight fists on her hips.

"Listen Orihime-chan. I understand that you have a lot on your shoulders, and that your mother is a grade A bitch with a side of psychopath. I also understand that what happened with your brother hangs over your head in such a crippling way that you're unable to lift a finger against another human. But think of all the good that your powers have done. No one, absolutely no one, have powers like yous. It's truly a gift from Kami, one that saves lives rather than take them away. You are able to bring someone back to life without the threat of bringing the wrong soul or something hitching along.

"Yeah, being a witch comes with more problems than anyone could ever want. But it's not all bad, and you should realize that soon, before you bring your beautiful baby girl into this world. Show her the right way to being a witch, okay?" she said, stepping down off the bed to kneel beside Orihime.

Smiling, Orihime nodded.

"Good, now let's get dressed. We can go out for breakfast!"

oOo

* * *

Ichigo swung upwards with all his might. She was gone in an instant, appearing behind him and thrusting her sword into his side.

The fact that she could move so fast was astounding. He didn't even see her the first time she struck him with her sword. She came out of nowhere and nearly took his shoulder off.

He's been fighting her for almost an half an hour, and he was losing.

They met, their swords clashing together loudly, sparks flying. She shoved him off of her and swung at him. He was barely able to block it before she swung at him again.

His movements were becoming slower, he was getting slower.

She pulled her sword back and speed to him, planning to spear him through. He sliced downwards, pining her sword down, and kicked her. She completed a back flip, her hand grazing the ground, a cloud of dust kicked up from where she touched the ground.

She roars, and speeds towards him, her claws outstretched before her.

He brought his sword up, blocking her attack. She jumped up and kicked him in the face, loosening a few teeth.

Before he could regain his senses, she shoved her hand through his body.

He felt the world around him pulsate.

He head banged painfully, his balanced became unsteady, he feel to his knees.

Hello Kingy, I see that you're trying to get rid of me. His inner demon laughed.

"Urgh!" Ichigo grunted, clutching the sides of his head painfully. Everything began to sway, his hearing was leaving him. He saw Shinji land beside him, he placed his hand on Ichigo's back.

"You see, Sutorberi-san, the best way to ensure that you don't ever lose control to your inner demon, is to force it to submit to your will and utilize it's dark energy."

"GYAH! ARUGH!"

"And the only way to do that. Is to defeat it. Lisa-chan, Marchiro-chan, create the box!" he orders them, flying away from Ichigo.

Think you can defeat me! His inner demon yelled.

The two girls charge towards Ichigo, one hand on their forearm, the other outstrectched in front of them. The muttered something and a red box forms around Ichigo.

Ichigo screamed as his inner demon was forcefully ripped from inside his body, materializing besides him.

It was an exact replica of Ichigo except he had sharp teeth and claw, and his were a glowing golden color and his skin was a bit paler.

He gave a manical grin.

Now we can fight each other face to face.

"Now Sutorberi-san, only one can emerge from this box. Let's hope the victor is you."

oOo

* * *

It was a cool sunny mid-October day. A perfect day for staying indoors and doing some reading.

Or so Mari thought.

She was home alone, her parents went shopping and they took her little brother along for the ride.

It was perfectly silent in the house, just like she likes it. So she could read, watch anime, do some writing all without the interruption of her family.

She lied on her plush bed, wrapped in her black comforter. A cup of jasmine tea and a really good book in her hand.

Because it was October, she decided that she was going to read horror fiction all month, and this one was really a doozy. It was about the notorious, English killer, Jack the Ripper.

She was truly absorbed into the story, the world around was lost to her.

However…

She heard a sound.

She looked up from her book, wondering if her parents had made it home already.

It was completely silent.

She squints her eyes, and goes back to her book.

A few minutes later, she hears the sound again. It sounds like a creaking of sorts, as if someone was in the hall way.

She folds the ear of her book, detangling herself from the covers. She swings her sock covered feet on to the floor and pads her way to her door.

She sticks her head out.

She sees no one.

"Mama? Papa? Ototo-kun?" she calls out.

No one replies.

She brings her head back into her room, closing the door softly, slightly unnerved.

She makes her way back to her bed, quietly so that she doesn't create any sounds.

She hears the creaking again.

She rushes to her door and through it open, certain that someone is playing a trick on her.

She walks fully outside of her room, rolling her eyes.

"Alright, come on out. I know you're there," she folded her arms across her chest.

No one revealed themselves.

She heard the creaking sound again, from further down the hall.

She gives and exasperated sigh and makes her way down the hall. When she reaches the living room she comes across no one.

She hears the door quietly close, as if someone doesn't want to be heard.

Her heart races slightly, a cold sweat drenches her body.

"Oi! This isn't funny, just come on out. Ha ha, you scared me, you win," she calls out nervously.

She slowly makes her way back to the back of the house where her room is, she looks around the doors to see if she can spot shadows moving.

She saw nothing.

She heard the sound of running feet in the living.

Quickly, she turned on her heels and ran to the living room, only to once again see no one.

At this point and time, she's freaking out. Her brain and her heart are racing a mile a minute. She turns back and runs to her room, slamming the door shut behind her. She leans against it, sliding down to the floor, breathing rapidly.

Suddenly there is a harsh banging on her door.

She screams.

She presses her back closer against the door.

"GO AWAY!" she yells at the intruder.

They pound on her door even harder, the fragile wood vibrating harshly.

"OPEN UP!" the gruff voice on the other end of the door yells.

Tears streams down her face, her body trembles along with the movement of door.

"GO AWAY! I ALREADY CALLED THE POLICE, THEY'LL BE HERE ANY MINUTE!" she screeches.

"What good would the police do you, when you're already dead?!" the voice on the other side of the door states.

The ram into the door again, the force almost propelled her across the room.

She looks around, dis hearten when she remembers that her phone is in the tangled covers of her bed. Making a quick decision she quickly moved from her door, rushing to her dresser. Using all of the strength she could muster, she pushed the dresser until it was fully in front of her door.

She dives for her bed, frantically searching phone.

They rammed into the door once more, she screamed, abandoning her search for the phone. She ran to her window, fearfully pushing it open.

They rammed into her door again, knocking over the dresser, the door partially open.

She screams, trying to climb through the window, her tears blinding her.

Someone grabs her legs, she screams, calling for help as she kicks, struggling against her attacker.

They pull her through the window. She flails around fearfully, her hands roaming around on the floor, grabbing whatever happened to be lying around, which was a book, and smashing it against the attackers face.

It stuns him for a moment, he releases her. She scrambles on the floor, trying to make her way to the door.

He grabs her leg again and yank her to him.

"LET ME GO! HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME! PLEASE! HELP! AAAHHHHH! HELP ME, SOMEBODY PLEASE!" she screams.

The man places his hand over her mouth, digging into his pocket.

He pulls out an army Swiss blade and jams it into her cheek.

Pain fills her mind as well as the sheer terror at the knowledge that she was going to die today.

The man continues to jab her in the face with the blade, in an almost compulsion like method.

She struggled to the bitter end, fear still encasing her entire body as she struggled to survive. Her body was drenched in her own blood.

Because the scariest things in the world, are human beings.

oOo

* * *

"Oh Rangiku-chan, that was the best rice omelet ever!" Orihime sang as she twirled down the street from the restaurant.

Rangiku laughed, twirling behind her, a happy crazed look about her face.

"I told you! I told you that it would be the best and guess what I was right!" she giggled happily.

Orihime nodded a huge grin on her face.

She wore a light blue sweater, a black skirt with white polka dots and black stockings and heels, her hair down in two braids.

Rangiku, who, decided in a blink of an eye moment to spend the night at Orihime's, had to borrow Orihime's clothes. She wore a blue dress with ruffle sleeves and a red double belt and black flats with tiny bows, her hair in a pulled from her face in a side pony tail.

They slowed their walk to a stroll as they neared the school.

Surprisingly enough, Rangiku was a teacher as well. She had a certain way with children that no one would have ever guessed.

She taught grade 6 whereas Orihime taught grade 3. Rangiku was thinking of changing grades, she was tiered of her students hitting on her. Orihime smiled at the memory of a particularly feisty student kept harassing Rangiku.

"_Ow! Did you just pinch my bottom young man?" she exclaimed, her voice incredulous. _

_The cocky boy, lifted an eyebrow, a disgusting smirk on his face. _

"_I know that you've been feeling me all year, Sensei. So I decided to take things into my own hands."_

_Her blue eyes widen. "Are you hitting on me?" she asked disgusted. His only response was a wider smirk that said. 'Well, you know.' She made a disgusted sound and walked up to the boy, her eyes narrowed to slits, her voice a dangerous low. _

"_If you ever touch me again, or hit on me ever in your life…I'll meet you after school and I'll hit on you," she growled. _

_The boy swallowed thickly and quickly escaped the room. _

Orihime laughed at the memory, looking down at the bag on her shoulder, her hands caressing her stomach.

Rangiku stops walking holding her hand out to stop Orihime.

Orihime eyes widen as she felt the strangely familiar aura.

It was the Noppera-bo!

"Orihime run!" Rangiku ordered. Orihime's eyes widened as she looked at Rangiku, a questioning look on her face. "In your pregnant state you shouldn't use magic too often, it can have an negative effect on the baby. Besides, a witch is a her weakest when she's pregnant. You don't want to cast an incantation only to lose your mojo half-way through. Now go!" she ordered.

Orihime looked at Rangiku, incredibly worried, but she was right. She didn't want to risk the safety of her unborn child.

So she turned and ran, an ill omen clawing up her back.

As she rounded the corner, she felt herself being blown back forcefully, the swarm of dark energy surrounded her once again.

She fought off the invisible force, or at least she tried.

Rangiku was right.

A witch was her weakest when she was pregnant.

She could feel the darkness as it began to cover her. She felt herself being thrust inside a cage, restrained with mental bonds, and locked away.

**Ohayo Orihime**. A dark voice said from within her. She fought against the mental bonds in which she was restrained.

"Who are you? What do you want?" she called out.

**Well I'm you…well…the better version of you.**

"What? What do you mean?"

**It's simple really. You are the princess, however, I am to be so much more. I aim to be the queen.**

"Get out of my body! You don't belong here!" she screamed inside of her, struggling hard against the mental bonds.

**Oh no, see, you invited me in here. All those times that you absorbed Ichigo-kuns dark energy. You wanted me here, you even refused to listen when Unohana-nee told you that it was dangerous. You thought that you can handled it and to be honest, you probably could have.**

**But then you see, you went and got yourself pregnant. Our little love child is the reason that I able to take control. She's taken all of your spare energy. You're unable to fight against me effectively.**

"No! Don't you dare harm my child!" she spat at the mass of dark energy inside her, struggling.

**Oh no, no, no, you have it all wrong. You see, I love this child. If not for this child, I wouldn't be able to be free. No, I'll take very good care of this child. Like I'll take very good care of Ichigo-kun.**

"NO! I'll never let you!"

**As if you have a choice.**

oOo

* * *

Toshi was walking down the street, bored out of his mind, waiting for something exciting to happen.

He'd gotten away when he killed that girl. He could still remember the sweet sensation of thrusting the knife inside her skull, through the bone. He nearly got off from the memory.

Ever since he was a kid, he dreamed of stabbing people, her fantasized, even masturbated to the thought of hot blood rushing over his hand, the feel of their squirming bodies, the sound of their screams.

As he rounded the corner he saw the most beautiful sight.

There was a woman, dressed in black and blue, her hair in braids, unconscious on the ground.

He looked around, to see if this was truly a precious gift from above.

There wasn't anyone around.

A crooked smile crossed his face as he strolled towards the fallen beauty.

She was even more beautiful up close than she was far away.

He was certain that she would be even more beautiful covered in her own blood and the look of fear on her first.

He kneels down beside her, leaning down to deeply inhale her scent.

She reeked of strawberries and…fear. He could smell it clear as day. Whatever happened to this broad scared her.

But he was certain that nothing would scare her as much as he would.

He dug into his pocket, grabbing his handy pocket knife.

He used a hand to sweep a few strands of hair from her face.

He let the knife trail her skin, from her chin down to her stomach.

He needed to wake her for this.

He used the butt of his knife and stuck her hard across her face, a toothy grin on his face.

She groaned, her eyes blinking furiously. They focused on the man who held a knife to her throat. She gasped, surprised.

He just adored the color of her eyes. They were the color of liquid gold.

"Hey babe, if you scream for me, I might leave you alive," he groaned, barely able to contain himself.

She cocked her head to the side and smile crossed her face.

"If you scream for me, I'll prolong your death," she whispered, her voice slightly distorted.

"What-" he gasped in horror as she forced her hand through his body, cruel smile lighting her face.

He gurgled, blood trailing out of his mouth, a look of surprise and horror crossed his face. Her full pink lips pulled into a pout. "Awn, you didn't scream," she lifted her other hand, turning it slightly. His head followed the motion, the bone cracked loudly, snapping and bending to her will until his life left him.

She tossed the man off her as she stood.

"Ew, now I'm covered in this bastard's blood," she grumbled.

**I…I can't believe you just did that…you…you killed him!** Orihime screamed, struggling against the bonds. The image of her brother's charred chest flashed throughout her mind. She was sure she was going to be sick.

Orihime's body looked around. She saw a man running to her.

"Hey miss are you alright? You look like you need a hos-augh!" he screamed as his body was lifted into the air, his neck twisting at an impossible angle until it snapped.

"I killed him too," she smirked.

* * *

**Questions, Comments, and/or Concerns?**

**Up Next: Psycho**


	14. Psycho

**Here's another update, I hope that you all enjoy. **

**To Sacha: Well, I'l always happy to please my customers so enjoy. **

**To the res of you: Read, Review, and Enjoy!**

* * *

Ichigo swung his sword in an arch, turning and landing a kick in his inner demon's chest. He flew into the wall of the box.

His demon grew a large grin, his golden eyes crazed.

"Is that all you got?!" he roared, speeding towards Ichigo faster than a bullet. He landed a punch in his chest, dropping to ground to sweep his feet from under him.

Ichigo landed hard on his back. He rolled to the side as his demon's foot struck the ground where he just was. Turning on his knees, he thrusts his sword catching his demon in his ankle.

Dark blood spills from the wound.

Ichigo gets up from the ground, spinning; he kicks his demon in the chest, causing him to fly in the wall once more.

"Is it me, or are you becoming weaker!" he growled at him.

His demon spit a thick glob of blood like substance, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Why don't you throw down that sword, and let me show you true weakness," he snarled.

Fury motivating his actions, he tossed his sword aside, and ran to him.

They clashed in a fury of limbs. His demon grabbed his hair and yanked his head down while jerking his knee upwards, crushing his nose.

Ichigo stumbled backwards, reeling his fist back to land a punch in his throat. His demon blocked, elbowing Ichigo in his eye. He uppercutted him in the stomach, Ichigo felt all of his air leave him.

"You. Are. Weak." His demon roared at him. "You aren't meant to be king!" He threw Ichigo face first in the dirt, pouncing on him. "You don't deserve control!" he grabbed his arm bending it at an impossible angle until it snapped.

"ARUGH!" Ichigo yelped in pain.

"You don't deserve my princess," he spat. "But don't worry. I'll take very good care of her. And trust me, there won't be anything holding me back ever again."

Ichigo's eyes widen. He saw Orihime falling from the bridge, her hair a fiery trail behind her.

He saw her battered, bloodied and bruised body.

He saw the fear in her eyes as she looked at him when she awoke from the hospital.

He heard her crying, shedding tears because of him.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" He roared, tossing his demon off of him.

Ichigo's inner demon flew backwards. Ichigo stood, his foot crushing his demons windpipe.

"NO!" he snarled at his demon, kneeling down, grabbing his neck. "Never…Again…"

oOo

* * *

Orihime, or rather, Orihime possessed, turned walked around the corner where the Noppera-bō, lurked.

Rangiku was having a tremendous time dealing with her. Well, with all of the souls that the spirit has been consuming, it was only natural that it would take a great deal of power to handle her.

Orihime smiled her pearly whites as sharp as a surgeon's scalpel.

She speeds towards the spirit, pushing Rangiku out of the way. She looked at the faceless girl, a smirk upon her face.

"Orihime-chan! What are you doing?! Get away from here now!" Rangiku ordered, coughing, blood spewing from her mouth.

**Rangiku-nee chan needs our help! Go help her! She's seriously injured!** Orihime yelled within herself, weakly struggling against her mental strains.

She was ignored.

Orihime looked at the Noppera-bō, sniffing the air around her. Her eyes widen, as a cruel smile played across her face.

"I know who you are," she sang. The Noppera-bō stood motionless, not moving a millimeter as Orihime circled around her, laughing. "I can't believe that she was so blind! This is amazing. I knew that that energy felt familiar. But it's so well hidden…" she trailed off, closing her eyes in pain. Inner Orihime was being a pain, struggling to get loose and save her friend.

"Urhg! I hate sharing a body," she growled. She returned her attention back to the Noppera-bō. "I can't play with you now; I'll have to take a rain check." Her eyes lit up, glowing a dark color as her energy erupted from her surrounding the Noppera-bō.

The faceless spirit screamed as she disappeared.

Orihime turned to Rangiku, a scowl on her face.

"Alright! Alright already! I will save her life!" she snarled.

She moved to Rangiku, who was trembling, sweat poured off her body.

She placed her hands over her and allowed her healing energies to repair the damage that was done to Rangiku.

Panting, Rangiku turned her head towards Orihime, her eyes widening in horror as she saw the dark blood on her hand and clothes.

"Orihime-chan! You're hurt; you need to get to a hospital! Your baby-"

"Is fine Rangiku-chan. I just came across something that needed to be taken care of."

Rangiku eyes narrowed slightly. No matter what Orihime never sheds a drop of blood.

"Ran-chan!" Gin Ichimaru appeared from around the corner, running to his wife, who lied injured on the ground, his normally silted blue eyes widen in concern.

He knelt down beside her, looking at Orihime. "Is she going to be alright?" he asked, his voice low to conceal his concern.

"I can bring people back from the dead. I'm sure I can handle a few broken ribs and a punctured lung," she grumbled. She really wanted to fight the Noppera-bō, but with that annoying voice inside her, which still had control of her heart, she couldn't even think of doing anything else until she completely healed this witch.

Gin looked at Orihime, a strange look on his face as if he was peering into her very soul. It didn't make her feel right. It made her feel as if he was seeing something that she didn't want him to.

She smirked, "You like what your see?"

He gave her an impossible smile. "I see that a dog has escaped its master." Her eyes narrows as fury began to build in her.

"Why you," he nodded at something behind her. She turned her head a saw a dog running as if the devil was on its heels, its bumbling owner not far behind, shouting for them to stop. She turned her attention back to Gin who only smiled wider.

When Rangiku was completely healed, Orihime stood and stretched, lifting her arms over her head.

"Well, I guess I should go home and change…can't go to school with all this blood on me," she laughed halfheartedly.

Rangiku and Gin only stared at her, strange looks on their faces.

She saluted them as her world melted from around her into her room.

"There, I healed your stupid little friend. Now don't get in my way again. Every time you struggle against me, it puts my baby in harm's way." She growled.

**It's not your baby, it's mine!** Orihime shouted, struggling.

"Stop fighting me, you're going to hurt her!" she yelled.

Blowing out a big puff of air, she glowered. The place that she was in, the place within her was dark. She could see out of her own eyes if she willed to do so, but other than that it was nothing but darkness. She couldn't feel anything, she couldn't smell anything. It wasn't hot, or cold, or uncomfortable. Her arms and legs felt shackled down and restrained, she knew she was in a cage of sorts.

She hated the feeling of being helpless in her own body; she was disconnected from the world.

She was disconnected from Ichigo.

**My friends…my sisters will know that you're not me. They will stop you!**

"How? By killing me, not likely," she muttered, walking to the closet and going through the clothes. "Oh I just adore leather," she smirks.

**If need be…then yes.** She replied quietly.

"Oh really? So you're willing to sacrifice…Aiko? That was what you're thinking of naming her right? Little loved one? Or perhaps Kumiko? Forever beautiful child? You keep thinking about that one, I think it's the one that you really want. You were going to present both names to Ichigo so that he could help you decide. You can't wait until he returns so you can tell him the good news, right?" she asked, rubbing her belly tenderly. "Don't worry, I'll tell him…and then we can be one big happy family."

**NO! You cannot have my family!** Orihime shouted, struggling.

She laughed, shaking her head, click her teeth. "This is my family. I'll marry Ichigo, I'll give birth to little Katsumi, and we'll live happily ever after," she said laughing.

**No! You can't live my life! They will kill you! They will stop you!**

"Oh, poor, pitiful princess. You really underestimate your own powers. Which means you more than underestimate my powers."

**No, my friends are strong. They will do whatever it takes to destroy you. I will do whatever it takes to destroy you!**

"My sweet, sweet dear idiotic princess. The only one who could possibly kill me…Is Ichigo."

oOo

* * *

Moe Shishigawara walked down the street, led pipe in hand, dragging it against the ground. He never used it against anyone, but it works great for intimidation.

It was only what? 12 during the day. There wasn't really anyone he could scare unless they were old people.

Sighing, he continued his trek, wondering if it was worth it to go on to school and bully some poor sap out of their lunch money.

The wind picked up.

He pulled his coat a bit tighter around himself, the cool breeze settling into his skin.

He hated the cold weather; it was always hard to look tough when bundled up in a sweater, or a coat. Yet, it was too cold for him to be comfortable in only a light jacket.

The wind blew harder, opening his jacket and stirring his hair which he gelled perfectly.

"What the fuck is up with this weather?" he muttered, retreating deeper into himself.

He decided that with the weather acting all freaky, he would be better off just going home.

He saw a figure making its way towards him. He could tell from a distance that this girl was killer.

Ignoring the cold, he picked up the led pipe, leaning it against his shoulder.

She approached closer and he knew that he just had to have a piece of that ass.

She had hips and breast that would make a man weak in his knees, clad in pleated leather skirt and a tight leather halter top that was tied loosely in the front, inviting him to look at her assets. Her long orange hair whipped about in the wind; making her look every park of the vixen he knew she was.

"What's going on mama," he said a toothy grin on his face. She stops her stroll and looks at him, her golden eyes raking across his body. A hungry smile crosses her face as she changes her course and makes her way over to him.

"Shouldn't you be in school?" she smirks devilishly.

He shook his head, "No, I should be in my bed, on top of you." She threw her head back, a delightful laugh erupting from her.

"That was a good one," she laughed. She pinned him in place with her eyes, walking to him in a seductive trance, her eyes never leaving his. "You wanna hear a better one?" she was upon him. Her hand went to his chest, exploring the muscles that were underneath. Her other hand moved to his arm which held the lead pipe, stroking it.

She pressed her chest up against his, feeling the reaction that she was causing in him. Her smile grew, she stroke his neck with the tip of her nose.

He could feel his eyes roll to the back of his head when she placed her plump, moist lip on the hollow of his neck.

"Kami," he moaned as she sucked on the thin skin of his neck. "You know, I know of an alley not too far away from here," he groaned closing his eyes.

"Oh you won't make it that far," she whispered, moving away from him.

"What?" there was a loud sound of metal connecting with something solid.

Pain radiated from his skull in painful waves, he felt something cold run down his face. Touching the side of his head, he feels the blood running in a constant stream down his face.

"What the fuck?" he mutters, looking up at her. She smiles and gives him a small wave with the lead pipe that is now stained with his blood. "What is wrong with you? You psychotic bitch!"  
She laughs, throwing her head back and swings at him again. And again, and again.

She continued to beat him with the pipe until he was no longer moving, laughing the entire way.

When she was done, she looked down at her clothes and frown.

"Man, it seems as though I'm a blood magnet," she mutters angrily.

She looks to the boy lying dead in the street. She nudges him with her stiletto.

"What are you doing just lying there? Wake up!" she screams at him, a crazy look in her eye. She kicks him in his stomach. "Get up! You can't just die there! It's public property!" she screams.

She hears a loud, blood curdling scream. She smiles as she feels a large dark and dangerous aura her way.

She looks down at the boy and scoffs.

He called her psychotic.

She hasn't even touched psycho yet.

oOo

* * *

Ichigo grunted, sweat poured off his insanely beat body. He had no idea how long he was fighting in that box, but he had finally defeated his inner demon. He could finally be alone with his thoughts without that monster listening in on him.

He felt free.

He stumbled out of the box, collapsing on the ground, breathing heavily, feeling dizzy and nauseous. His arm lied mangled besides him, crushed and dislocated. He inhaled and exhaled deeply, stirring the dust on the ground. He could feel someone walking beside him.

Shinji knelt down on the ground besides Ichigo, chewing on a tooth pick.

"You did good Sutoroberī-san, it only took you 5 days to defeat him, but I'm sure that you won't ever have to deal with him again."

Ichigo scrambled up, despite his tired, sore and aching body. "FIVE DAYS! I'VE BEEN HERE LONGER THAN A WEEK!" You've actually been here two weeks, between settling in, running, fighting with Hiyori-chan and fighting your demon…" Ichigo snatched Shinji up by the collar of his shirt.

"Two weeks! I told Orihime that I'll be back in a week! You told me-"

"I'm going to assume that this Orihime-chan is your girlfriend? Is this her?" he produced a crumpled up piece of paper with Orihime sitting on her knees in a candy pink thong and her hands covering her braless chest as she blew a kiss to the camera. Ichigo's eyes widen in anger and he grabbed the picture from Shinji.

"Where did you get this?!" he roared. Shinji slowly rolled his eyes towards Lisa who was making little booklets of the photos and handing them out.

"We found them on your phone; this one is my favorite by far. I swear, if I had a girlfriend that looked this hot I would never leave home. I understand you wanting to hurry back." Shinji words were useless as Ichigo dropped him and ran towards Lisa, shouting furiously for her to burn every copy that she owned of Orihime and the various, naughty pictures that she took for his eyes only.

Shinji sighed, shaking his head as he produced another copy of the photo. "Inoue-chan, I don't know what you see in him…" he looked at the picture thoughtfully. "I think that pink maybe my new favorite color."

oOo

* * *

Ichigo groggily awoke from his slumber after he passed out trying to collect the dirty pictures of his girlfriend.

He lifted his hand to his face, noticing that it was bandaged.

His whole body was bandaged and stiff, but it felt considerably better than when he first past out.

He could tell that most of the injuries that he sustained were already healed. Like his arm, although it was incased in a brace and sling, the bones had already mended together, and someone had popped it back into its socket.

He had healed way too much for him to only have been sleeping a few days.

"Oh, you're up." Shinji stepped through the door of the room; his bored eyes scanned the area before he plopped down in the seat next to him.

"How long was I out?" Ichigo groaned, sitting up and stretching his stiff muscles.

"Um…two…maybe three weeks. It's been awhile man, I lost track." Ichigo eyes widen. He's been gone for 4-5 weeks! Shit, Orihime is probably going berserker with worry.

"Chill, your girlfriend isn't going to miss you. It's probably only been like, 3 or 4 days in the real world. Time down here is different, modified so that we can get a lot of training in a short amount of time."

Ichigo visibly relaxed, unclenching his hands and his body lost some of its tension.

He ran his hands through his hair, something felt different about it. "Okay, so what do we do now?"

"Well," Shinji leaning back in the chair, sticking a toothpick in his mouth. "We wait until you're all healed up and then the real training can begin."

"Why wait?" Ichigo swung his legs around off the bed, ignoring the bout of dizziness and nausea. "I feel good enough to start training now."

Shinji just stared at him.

"What?"

"You're going to need to be at full strength for training. If you thought that fighting your inner demon was hard work, then this training will kill you. Besides, you're going to be handling some insane amount of energy that you're not accustomed to wielding. If you don't rest up before then your body's gonna quit on you and then you'd be back in here, taking forever to heal up and thus, taking longer to get back to your pretty little girlfriend."

"Fiancée and I can handle it," Ichigo said adamantly.

"Really? I thought that it would be impossible. Seriously, like literally impossible for someone like you to even be able to speak to her, let alone be her marry her. A girl like that is obviously out of your league, so much so that it hurt me to see her fall from her grace and settle down next to you."

"Would you shut the goddamn hole in your face, I already know that she's out of my league." Shinji looked at Ichigo, slightly tilting his head. He didn't expect him to concede so easily. Ichigo looked down at his hands. "I already know that I don't deserve her and that she's too good for me. And ever since we've been together I've done nothing but hurt her time and time again."

He remembered her being splattered with Kyoko's blood…her falling from the sky…her cringing from him in fear. He remembered her crying, she shed so many tears from when he left her behind, consumed in his own self-loathing and pity. She has cried so much because of him.

"But that's why I'm here. I don't want to hurt her anymore. I don't want to her to shed any more blood or tears on my account." He looked up into Shinji's eyes, determination coloring them. "I will get stronger so that I can protect her."

Shinji cracked a wide, devious smile that consumed his face.

"Well let's get started."

oOo

* * *

Orihime, the imposter, made her way to the sound of scream, a grin igniting her features.

"So which do you prefer?! Red or blue?!" she saw the strikingly handsome boy perched on top of a frighten girl. Blood splattered her features as she choked on her tears struggling to get away from the psychotic boy.

The imposter knew who this creature was. He was a bathroom spirit, destined forever to lure the women who enter to perform their natural duties to their deaths.

But what was he doing out?

The girl cried out blue.

Orihime tilted her head, an evil grin upon her face. Silly little human girl. There is no right answer to his question. Whatever you say will kill you, even if you say nothing you will still die.

She stood watching the boy as he strangled the life out of the girl until she turned blue in the face, a maniacal smile on his face.

Orihime begged her to help the poor soul, to do all that she could to save the girl.

She had no intention of doing any such thing.

She stalked over to the boy who wiped the blood off his face. He spotted her and smiled.

He looked a lot like Ichigo. Shocking orange hair, brown eyes, same build. He could be his doppelganger. But of course that was all part of his powers. To every girl he looked different; he took on the form of their hearts desire.

She smiles at him flirtatiously.

"I have a question to ask you," he states moving closer to her.

"Of course, but first I have a question for you," she counters, looking down at the ground, scuffing the tip of her black spiked stiletto.

He cocked his head to the side. They heard sounds. They both turned their attention to behind Orihime.

It was Ikkaku and Yumichika.

"The energy was coming from over here," Ikkaku shouted.

They both stop short when they saw Inoue standing with their objective.

"Inoue-san?" Yumichika said stunned. "Eto…we can take it from here. Just take care of the victim." She turns back to the boy and rolls her eyes, a sly, secretive smile on her face.

"Arigato boys, but I'm sure that I can handle this," she yells to them, not bothering to turn her head. "So," she speaks to the boy, "my question is how it is that someone like you is able to be free? Last I checked your kind was doomed to haunt women's bathroom forever."

The boy looks at her, his brown eyes quirked up in confusion. He runs a hand through his hair, looking around, deciding whether or not to answer the question.

"Eto...I don't know, this faceless spirit set me free. Without restraints, without restrictions. So now, answer a question for me." He cocked his head to the side, a wide grin on his face.

"INOUE-SAN! DON'T" Ikkaku screamed.

"Oh yes, your question." She thrusts her hand out to the side;

Gladius venenosum ex Inferno!

A black and orange sword appeared in her hand, its blade light, thin and sharp.

"I choose black." She swipes the swords cleanly through his neck before he has a chance to react. His head rolls off, thumping along the ground. His black blood showers the pavement, dissipating as soon as it touches the ground, his body disappearing into nothing.

Yumichika and Ikkaku stare at Orihime in surprise and shock.

Last that they knew of, she couldn't kill anyone. She was literally incapable of such an act. But here she is, killing this spirit as if it was common practice for her.

She slowly turns, shaking the blood off her blade, and leaning it against her shoulder.

"I told you guys that I could handle it," she smiled.

They looked at each other.

Yumichika furrowed his brow in confusion.

He sniffed the air, his eyes widening.

"Ikkaku-kun, she isn't-"

Orihime flew towards them in record speed, thrusting her sword at Yumichika.

Brandishing his own, he deflects her blade; it gets caught in his shoulder. She pulls it out, a smile on her face.

"What the fuck?!" Ikkaku yells angrily, brandishing his own sword. Yumichika kept his eyes on her, he clutched his shoulder. She laughs.

"Wow that was fast. I thought that I would at least be able to pierce your heart."

"Who are you? What have you done to Inoue-san?!" Yumichika ordered. Ikkaku's eyes widens as he stares at her.

She gestures to her leather clad body, smirking. "I am Inoue-san, the fact that you think that I'm not insults me."

"Cut the bull shit, your energy is corrupted, and you smell of death!" he growls at her.

She laughs harder. "I'm surprised that you were able to catch on so quickly. Although, I guess if I didn't kill those three humans then I could've got away with it for longer. At least until I had to go to coven tonight. But I guess it's all well. I wanted to see you two anyway. I have a score to settle with Ichigo!" she grunts as she swipes at Ikkaku, cutting his shoulder in a move as quickly as lightening.

He staggers back surprised. The wound wasn't very deep or very painful. It would heal in less than a day.

Her smile grows wider. Yumichika staggered suddenly. He dug his sword into the ground, as his vision became blurry, his body became heavy. His heart pounded slowly and painfully in his chest.

"Poison…" he groaned, falling to his knees. She laughed her voice of distorted tinkering bells.

"Yumichika!-kun!" Ikkaku yelled, racing to his fallen friend.

**YUMICHIKA! IKKAKU**! Orihime screamed within herself. She struggled and fought, but it was as if her arms were made of tooth picks. NO! NO, NO, NO, NO! she screamed. She cried out, trying to break free. She tried to take hold of her body once more.

"Hai, Hell's poison. I couldn't very well kill you in a fair fight in the state that I'm in now. You know, pregnant and all. Oh wait, you didn't know." Ikkaku looked up at her with hatred and surprise. "Yeah, you two are…well, were going to be uncles! Ikkaku, you should be feeling the effects of the poison as well. It's the only one that can kill powerful yokai such as you." She kneeled down beside them as Ikkaku feel to his knees.

**NOOOOOO! NOOOOO! PLEASE! PLEASE! STOP IT!** Orihime begged.

She pursed her lips in a pout, grabbing Ikkaku's face in her hand. He tried weakly to jerk it out of her grasp. "Awn, poor baby…you're dying. Who did this to you?" she looks him in the eyes, false concern settling in hers. "How did this happen? Don't worry. I can save you…I can heal you," she laughs at the mockery in her own voice.

She stands, dusting her clothes off, turning to leave them in their own pile of death.

"…you…psychotic…bitch…Kurosaki…san…Kurosaki-san will kill you…"

She turns to them a frown on her face, "Really? Maybe you didn't hear me the first time. I'm pregnant. He's obviously the farther and he loves me." She turns away from them, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Now just let the poison settle and die in peace. I have other business to attend to."

* * *

**Comments, Questions, and/or Concerns?**

**Up Next: Child's Play**


	15. Child's Play

**It's been a really long time and I apologize for that! **

**To Sacha: You'll be seeing what Orhime can do real soon!**  
**To Chauin: I don't know why I did that. It was honestly a slip up. And you liked Moe? That's weird. **

**To Madegelena88: They're evil. Empathy isn't in their vocabulary. **

**To the rest of you: Read, review and Enjoy!**

* * *

"Sisters! I come to you with grave importance! It is Orihime-chan, I'm afraid that she's-ngh! Arugh! Ugh!" Rangiku fell to her knees, her eyes rolling to the back of her head, a thin trail of blood leaked out of her mouth.

The witches all stood their eyes wide with anger and concern. The looked around, casting their energies about to sense an evil presence.

There was none.

"Wait," Unohana warned, standing to attention. "I sense-"

She was thrown back against the wall, pinned there by an invisible force.

An eerie familiar laugh resounded around the room, the witches all looked around, still unable to distinguish the source.

Orihime appeared in the middle of the room in a plume of dark purple smoke. Her bright orange hair flowed around her, her leather pleated skirt swished around her creamy white thighs. Her normally grey eyes shined a bright gold and an evil grin was plastered on her face.

"Orihime-chan, what is the meaning of all of this!" Suì-Fēng demanded.

"That is not Orihime." Unohana struggled out. She broke free of the hold that Orihime had on her. "That is a manifestation of dark energy that has invaded her body and has taken over."

"Rangiku-chan! She's fading! I think she's killed her!" Momo cried out, rushing to Rangiku.

Orihime smirks, rolling her eyes. "I did not kill her. This stupid bitch inside me wouldn't let me if I tried. But she's one of the very few that can possibly stop me. Her," she focuses her eyes on Unohana, an malicious glint in her golden orbs. "And you too. You must be subdued."

Her golden eyes glowed brilliantly as did her token hair clips.

"Ego convocabo omnes copias tenebris inferni ascendere, et consumet unum ut Unohana!"

The ground shook with great velocity. Dark beings slowly rose from the ground by the dozens. They had no faces, no distinct shape. The room began to stink of death and decaying flesh.

The dark beings donned swords and aimed them all at Unohana.

"Kill her lovelies. Kill them all, but make sure that you kill her. I don't need them to interrupt with my plans."

The beings turn their attention to the others in the room, lifting their swords higher.

NO. I WILL NOT LET YOU KILL MY SISTER! Orihime yelled.

"You don't have a choice my dear parasite. Just sit there and be pretty. "

NO I will never sit around while you destroy my life!

The dark beings charged at the women. Various spells and incantations were cast about, stopping the beings and destroying some. But they kept arising. More and more appeared. There were endless.

Her sisters were failing. They were getting cut down left and right. Their blood was staining their sacred ground.

"NOOOOOO!" Orihime screamed, clutching her hair.

NEQUAM Daemonium ab Inferno RELIQUISH CORPUS MEUM MIHI!

A brilliant white light filled the room as Orihime regained control of her body.

All of the dark beings where vanquished from the room at once.

Her eyes still glowing, she spoke an incantation and the room basked in a warm golden glow. It was the most people that Orihime had ever healed at once. It was draining.

"Orihime-chan…that dark energy…it's still inside of you." Unohana panted as her wounds healed.

Orihime shook her head sadly. "I know…I can't restrain it for long…Onee-chan…please…kill me."

Unohana looked at Orihime, sadness encasing her.

"I know that it's hard to do…and I know that I'm asking a lot of you. But I can't control her," tears escape her eyes. "And I've already killed 5 people. So please kill me…before I kill again…" she cries.

"Orihime…" Unohana starts. Orihime stops and stands to attention.

She could sense Ichigo. He was here. He was back here in Karakura! He was here a lot earlier than he said he would be!

Her heart pounded painfully in her chest. If there's anything that she wanted more in the world was to see him again. But she was afraid that if she doesn't deal with this situation now, her dark energy will consume her once more and she'll be unable to put an end to it.

So as a last act of her love, she sent him all of her feelings of happiness and love that she possibly could hold inside of her. She sent him her last words.

And then she surrendered herself to Unohana.

oOo

* * *

Ichigo stepped out of Urahara shop, scratching his head.

His hair has gotten considerably longer. It reached his shoulders and fell into his eyes.

He ran his hands through it, still unused to its length.

Finally, he had his demon under control. He no longer heard its voice or feel its presence. He could, however, feel a tremendous power that has settled inside of him. He felt faster, stronger, better, and quicker.

He stopped when he felt Orihime calling out to him. He could feel all of her love and admiration, and her emotions.

She loves him. He can feel that. But it is something that he has always known, so why she felt the need to reassure of him of this was weird. It was extremely nerve wrecking to say the least.

He grabbed ahold of their bond and followed it, letting it guide his path.

He sensed danger in her spirit. He sensed torment.

He ran.

oOo

* * *

Unohana, looked down at Orihime, her sword held high over her head.

She hesitated.

"Please Onee-chan, please do this for me." Orihime pleaded with her.

"But Orihime-chan…your child…I can sense her within you."

"I know…" tears streamed down her face. "We will go together. So please, I don't want Ichigo to see me like this. I don't want him to have to put me down." Huge sobs wracked through her body, her abundant chest shuddered.

"Orihime-chan…Unohana-chan…there must be another way!" Momo cried, huddled over Rangiku still unconscious form.

"There is no other way. Now hurry, I can feel her-ugh! NO! Do it now! DO it now!" she cried out.

Unohana lifted her sword to plunge it through Orihime's heart.

She was thrown back against the wall with bone shattering force.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE!" Ichigo snarls at them.

"Ichigo-kun, no!" Orihime cried out to him.

He stands over her protectively, his eyes burning gold, his hair flying about him.

"Why the fuck were you fucking witches about to kill her?!"

"Kurosaki-kun, you don't understand." Unohana pleaded with him as she picked herself off the ground.

"You're damn right that I don't understand! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill each a every single one of you?" he snarled.

"I can't think of a single one," the dark melodious voice of Orihime taunts.

All of the witches turned to Orihime, sensing her dark energy change. They became on the offensive.

"Kurosaki-san, if you don't get out of the way I swear that I will take you down as well!" Suì-Fēng threatened him.

"I'll like to see you try! I'm not letting any of you anywhere near her! I'll kill you all if I have to!" he snarled.

Orihime moaned, fighting her inner self. She was able to break free for a moment and wrapped her arms around Ichigo. The world melted around them and they were somewhere far from her coven.

"Ichigo please! Kill me!" she cried out.

She fell to the ground, writing in pain.

Ichigo turns to his fallen love, worry in his eyes.

"Orihime!" he cried out to her, gathering her in his arms. "What did they do to you?!" he asked, holding her tightly. If he was just a few seconds late, that bitch would have killed her. She would have killed his Orihime. He will never forgive her for that.

"No…Ichigo-kun…It's…please don't hurt my sisters…" she groans out, her head lolling back and forth.

"Orihime!...Orihime!" he cried out.

Her entire body shudders; she opened her eyes and smiled at Ichigo. His eyebrows draw together as he takes in her golden eyes. What happened to the beautiful grey eyes that he fell in love with?

Her arms move around his neck pulling him close to her and devouring his lips with a passion that almost scared him. Her canines nipped his lips, drawing blood.

She licked the injured lip smiling brightly at him.

"I've missed you so much Ichigo-kun," she purred, fingering his chest. She leans into his chest and take a large sniff, her lips curling into a grin. "I have a lot of news to tell you," she looks up at him from underneath her lashes. "But you have to understand, everything that I did…I did because I love you."

"What? Orihime, what's going on? What are you talking about?"

"Ichigo-kun!" They both turn to see Rukia panting heavily. "Ichigo-kun, get away from her! She's dangerous! She killed Ikkaku and Yumichika!" Rukia yelled.

"What?" He turns back to look at Orihime who was glaring daggers at Rukia.

"Ignore her Ichigo-kun, she doesn't know what she's talking about."

"Ikkaku and Yumichika are dead?" He asked, distressed and confused.

"Yes they are sweetie, but you don't need them. You only need me, we only need each other."

"Is that why you tried to kill our coven?! Ichigo, she isn't who she seems! That isn't Orihime, that is a dark manifestation of-ah!" Rukia flew backwards, skidding along the ground.

Orihime detangled herself from Ichigo and stalked over to Rukia, a look of death and foreboding. "You know what skank; I'm tired of hearing you speak so I think you should hold your tongue." Orihime's eyes glowed brilliantly as Rukia eyes widened and her hands flew to her mouth.

She opened her mouth and blood poured out in a thick, sticky stream, for her tongue was cut out.

Tilting her head, Orihime smiled.

"What are you doing?" Ichigo yells at her.

Orihime languidly turns around, a cruel smile on her face.

"Oh don't worry about her honey; she'll be dead in a few minutes from blood lost."

"Why are you doing this? Did you really kill Ikkaku and Yumichika?" His brown eyes were distressed. What was going on with his girlfriend? Why was she acting this way? What had happened when he was gone?

"You know sweetheart I really love it when your hair is like that. It makes me wet almost instantly. It's actually been a while, do you want to bend me over and discipline me? I've been a really naughty girl."

Ichigo looks to Rukia, his expression screwed. She was dying, that much was obvious. He turns to his girlfriend and looks her in the eyes. They aren't Orihime's eyes.

This isn't his Orihime.

"Okay…I believe you…Those witches were just trying to kill you, she's obviously here just to finish the job." He says, getting up and walking to her slowly. Her eyes lit up.

"Oh Ichigo-kun sweetheart! I am so happy that you agree! Oh Ichigo I'm so happy that you're not angry with me. I had to kill Ikkaku-kun and Yumichika-kun, if not then you wouldn't have fully given yourself to me. You know, I was truly crushed when you kill Ryo-chan and Kyoko-chan. They were really good friends of mines. So I had to kill them so that we can be even." She smiled, "Now we are and we can be together."

Ichigo looked stricken. She did it. She really did kill his friends.

Once he was upon her, he held her close, smiling at her, his face tight. His hand caressed the back of her neck and he leaned close, their breaths mingling.

"Yeah babe, we're going to be together." He crashed her forehead against hers.

She was unconscious immediately.

He gently set her to the ground and rushed to Rukia, who was bleeding out. He scooped her up in his arms and rushed to find her help.

Orihime groggily woke after a few minutes of unconsciousness. Her golden eyes flashed brilliantly.

"Leave me for that bitch will you Ichigo-kun? I don't think so." Thick dark storm clouds appeared overhead, lightning and thunder flared up like the fires of hell.

"Kuchiki Rukia, I will destroy you."

* * *

**Shmow ZoW! Orihime totally lost her cool! I hope to update really soon. **

**Comments, Questions, and/or Concerns?**


	16. Halloween Part I

**It's been a minute Right? Sorry About that. There's like 2 or 3 more chapters left, so yeah...pretty neat. **

**To Nypsy: Don't be so quick to judge everything so soon. Things are not always as they seem and I urge to to read the rest of the story. Pretty please with cherries on top. Trust me, in the end, you won't hate Rukia. **

**To Sacha: Yeah shit just got real. And it's going to be even more real in this chapter. And the next chapter? Girl don't even get me started. **

**To Magdelena: yeah, those personal demons always come back to bite you in the butt, it's soooo annoying. **

**To eragonfan 117: If you think she's scary...**

**To the rest of you: read, review and enjoy!**

* * *

Ichigo ran with inhuman speed to the witch's coven, holding Rukia tightly in his arms.

He couldn't believe that Orihime…possessed. She was possessed. That is what Rukia had said right? That that was a manifestation of dark energy. His Orihime wouldn't ever do anything like that. She wouldn't have the ability to cut out anyone's tongue, let alone kill anyone.

But Ikkaku and Yumichika!

It's not possible. She didn't kill them. She couldn't have killed them. It wasn't possible.

Even though Ichigo fought vehemently against the idea of Orihime doing anything like that, he knew that Rukia wouldn't lie, and he couldn't stop the grief that was beginning to creep upon him.

He worked with those guys. They were his friends. They were the people who he trusted his life with and they were dead. They were ripped away from this world, curtsy of his girlfriend.

His brain wasn't processing this information very well. He was going insane.

He made it to the coven and entered the sacred grounds. Immediately, the withes were on the defense.

"Rukia-chan!" Yoruichi exclaims, rushing to Ichigo. He gives her Rukia and looks at the witches.

"Where is Orihime-chan?" Unohana asks Ichigo rushing to him, concern on her face.

"I left her on the ground a few miles from here," he replies, his eyes searching hers wildly. "What's going on with her? Did she really kill Yumichika and Ikkaku?"

Unohana looks down; casting her eyes towards the sacrificial table they were going to kill Orihime on. "I am sorry Ichigo. The woman you once loved has been consumed by an dark energy. It is the very same energy that she's been absorbing from you over the years. She's taken too much and it over powered her."

"So you're saying that this is my fault." He asks her, looking her dead in the eyes. She looks away from him.

"Now is not the time to point blame. We must find her now. At this rate, she going to become her mother and the world just cannot handle two of them."

"She will never become her mother. I will make certain of that." He grows defiantly.

"Kurosaki-san I'm sure that you can smell all of the destruction that she's wrought in only a matter of minutes. Most of our sisters were fallen before she regained control of her body and revived them. It's too late to save her, she must be destroyed." Suì-Fēng demands.

"I will not let you hurt her. There's another way. We will find another way to save her." He snarls at her.

"Get it through your think skull Kurosaki-san. Orihime-chan is no more." She moves closer to him. Although she was significantly shorter than him, she somehow manages to stare him down. "She's dangerous, and a threat and it's your fault she's loose. You've killed us all."

oOo

* * *

Orihime shakes her long orange hair out, running her fingers through it. She takes a deep calming breath and smiles seductively. She lifts a small, delicate fist and knocks lightly on the door.

It opens to reveal a shirtless Renji; his long blood red hair hung down his back and fell over his shoulder, his thick, black tribal tattoos wounded around his hard, magnificently sculpted body. She smiles, licking her lips, flicking her eyes up to innocently meet his.

"Abarai-kun is Rukia-chan around?" she asks sweetly.

"Um, no, actually she went to the coven meeting, shouldn't you be there as well?" he frowns, his oddly shaped tattooed eyebrows pulls together. "What's that smell?"

She pounces on him, jumping so that her legs wraps tightly around his waist, her hands tightly grips his face. She covers his mouth with hers, plunging her tongue deep within his mouth, exploring the cavern. He stumbles back, gripping her back to steady her, as he leans against the door, surprised.

He tries to push her off of him, but she tightens her hold on him, pushing herself deeper into the kiss, pouring her power into to him. He soon stops struggling and tightens his hold on her back, caressing the soft, supple bare flesh of her back where her leather halter top. His tongue pushes back against hers, trying to take control of the kiss, battling her for dominance. She smiles, and backs off, biting his lower lip with a sharp tug of her canines.

His eye holds a daze, glazed over look. Thin purple smoke swirl within his iris as he stares blankly at her. She detangles herself from him; landing on the floor with a sharp clack as her heels meets the ground. "Wow, I never knew what hidden talent you had Abarai-kun. Really, we must do that again sometime, but I need you to do something for me," she turns from him and walks out of his apartment.

He follows her, "I would do anything for you my love," he responds, his voice monotone and bleak.

"Of course you would, it's your pleasure." She turns around quickly and drapes herself around him, pulling his face close to hers, her nails lightly scraping against his chin. "I need you to get rid of a certain little pest…she's standing in the way between you and I…you want to be with me yes?" He nods obediently. "I know you do, but she's in our way…so I need you to kill her…I need you to kill Kuchiki Rukia."

oOo

* * *

Ichigo walks outside of the coven sacred grounds, running a hand through his shoulder length locks.

Orihime.

She gone insane and it's his entire fault.

He hadn't expected this when he came back. He was gone for three months. Well, technically only 3 days, but her was away from her for three months. For three months he was training and nearly killed over and over again to protect her all for nothing. While he was gone, she was losing a battle to her own inner demon and now…now…

He sighs, looking up into the sky angrily. Why?! Why whenever something good happens in his life, does Kami decides that he's doesn't deserve it and tries to rips it away from him?!

"Ichigo-kun! She's here!" Rukia comes rushing out of the coven grounds, fully healed. Between the lot of them, they were able to reconstruct her tongue and heal her. However, if Orihime was as powerful as they said she was, that spell left them in no shape to fight her.

Rukia eyes widen significantly when she sees Renji walking closely behind Orihime. She moves to him but is stopped by Ichigo's hand. She looks to him, confused, a slight panic taking over her heart.

"Orihime, what's going on? This isn't you, you don't hurt people."

"Orihime isn't here right now," she tells him angrily. "But don't worry; I'll make sure that she gets your message." She smirks, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

"Renji, get away from her! She's not herself she's evil!" Rukia cries out, worried for him. Orihime large grey eyes slides over to Rukia's panicked formed. Her thin orange eyebrows draw together as her lips takes on a mocking smile.

"You're heart has changed already? I was certain that you wanted Ichigo…but now it seems to be yearning for Renji…tsk, tsk,tsk…such a selfish girl. You can't have both, that's not fair. But if you want, I'll trade ya," like a snake, she smoothly wrap herself around Renji, pulling him close as their lips once again meets.

Ichigo and Rukia eyes widen significantly as anger and betrayal takes holds of their hearts. Orihime releases Renji, one eye glancing at Rukia, who was trembling with anger.

She looks down, her small fist clenching together tightly. "Renji…it's obvious that you are under…some type of spell…so you I can forgive…however…" she looks up, the fires of hell in her violet eyes as she glared at Orihime. "You, I can never, ever forgive. You possessed my friend, and you possessed my boyfriend,"

"Oh Rukia get over yourself. You didn't acknowledge as your boyfriend until just now. You should be grateful that I helped you sort out your own heart." Orihime smiles as she traced the tattoos on Renji's bare torso. "However, I like him I'm not so sure if I want to give him back."

"STAY AWAY FROM HIM YOU DEMON BITCH!" Rukia screams as she charges towards Orihime. Ichigo moves to stop her, but Renji make it first, stepping in front of Rukia, donning his sword, aiming at her. She stops, her eyes wide, her snow white sword mere inches away from his bare flesh.

"Renji…no, get out of the way…I…I don't want to hurt you…" She pleads with him. She searches his eyes, trying to find signs of the spell that Orihime has cursed him with. He lifts up his sword and swings downward, attempting to cut her in halve. She blocks, using all of her strength to stop him. It's no use. He's physically stronger than her.

She pushes off and dives away from him. He's upon her in an instant, driving his sword towards her gut. He is stopped by Ichigo's hand. He's different. His hair is longer and brighter, his teeth and nails are sharper and his normally chocolate brown eyes are in haunting gold.

"You're already on thin ice for kissing my girl. Don't make me hurt you Renji," he growls. Renji jumps backward, leveling his sword up to Ichigo's face. Orihime walks next to it, placing her hand on the cold metal.

"No, no, no. That one is yours," she tells him, pointing to Rukia who was scrambling off the ground and resuming fighting position. "He's mine." She reaches up and pulls an black and orange sword from thin air.

"Orihime, I'm not going to fight you!" he snarls at her, his eyes determined.

"Oh really? Well then I guess that it'll make this much easier!" she shouts, lunging towards him.

He deflects her blow, with one hand, and the next, taking small steps back. She manages to cut him six times, in the shoulder, on his face and arms. Each and every swung she took at him was harder than the last, however…they were all weak, as if she was holding back. That's when he knew that his Orihime was still in there somewhere. The woman he loved, she was in there, fighting to come out.

"Orihime I know you're in there. Please fight, don't give up. I won't let her destroy you."

**Ichigo!** The true Orihime cried out weakly. To see this dark manifestation takes control of her body and her powers. It was maddening. She was exerting powers unlike Orihime has never tried before. The skies raged on with thunder and lightning, yet not one drop of water feel from the sky. The skies were all dark and ominous, ill omens and dark energy raced around the city, fueling her. People who the tinniest bit of power felt the tremendous dark wave of energy surge.

"Shut up! Kami!" Orihime yelled, pounding her chest. The true Orihime felt a dark energy whiplash and flew against the invisible force in which she was held.

"Don't you hurt her!" Ichigo yells, racing towards her and grabbing her by her shirt. Orihime uses her feet to crawl, quickly, up his chest and catches his jaw with the tip of her boot. He staggers back, releasing her. She manages a mid-air backflip and lands safely on the ground, smirking.

"Ichi-baby, you're gonna have to try harder than that."

He rubs his jaw, anger coursing through his veins. "Orihime…please forgive me for what I'm about to do your body." He rushes towards her and grabs her by the neck at inhuman speed and slams her into the ground. A small creator is formed from her impact. She coughs a thin trail of blood leaks from her mouth. Immediately, seeing the damaged he's caused makes him feels sick.

She glares at him. "Is that all you got? All that training and you still hit like a little bitch!" she spits at him, disappearing in a plume of dark purple smoke. His hands grasp at the ground where she once was, listening for where she would next appear. Faintly, he hears sounds of Rukia and Renji fighting, her pleading with him to "snap out of it".

He suddenly feels himself being suspended in the air, the feeling of weightlessness encases him. The smell of rotting human flesh and blood filled his nostrils. His stomach lurched, his brain ached fiercely. Memories of his mother dead and her blood staining the grass assaulted his memory.

"Remember sweetheart, I know everything about you. What makes you tick! I know how to through you off your game. Like how the smell of human blood returns you to the past when your dear ole mom was murder by a monster. So tell me Ichigo-kun…did you finally kill that monster…or is he still somewhere within you?!" she laughs, appearing on his back, wrapping her legs tightly around his torso, snaking her arms around his neck. "But don't worry baby, I promise not to hurt you. I actually have some good news for you," she whispers in his ear.

He reaches behind him and grabs her, pulling her beneath him. They descend quickly to the ground, he turns so that he lands on his back, with her on top of him to protect her from the fall. Quickly, before she could gather her bearings, he rolls on top of her, pinning her to the ground. He snatches her flower hair pins, her token, and thrusts them in his pocket.

"There, that should keep you from performing any higher level spells," he grins at her triumphantly. She returns the grin.

"Fool, I'm so powerful that I don't need them. They only server to fuel my power, not create it. I am the most powerful being on this planet. There is not one that can stop me. The streets will run red with those that attempt to try."

"Oh you are your mother all over," he grunts, using the base of his palm to smack her in her forehead, causing her to black out for a moment.

She looks so peaceful and serene, asleep and not threatening to kill everyone. His beautiful Orihime…what happened?

He crawls off her and gathers her into his arms, holding her close to his chest. He can feel the dark energy in the sky, the ground beneath them shakes and cracks under her aura. She is powerful. It is only due to the fact that Orihime loves him so that he is able to get close enough to her to subdue her.

But she is gaining more and more power, unleashing the energy in which Orihime has kept sealed for so long. Soon, if he didn't find a way to save her, he would have to fight the others just to keep her alive. He wasn't sure if he wanted to do that. Face the Organization's wrath as they rain down upon Orihime.

He stalks over to where Rukia and Renji are fighting. Rukia is doing pretty good, she didn't need his help. But he needed a witch so that they could figure out what to do about Orihime.

He felt a hand slide through his flesh, muscle and sinew. He looks down in horror to see his girlfriend glaring at him, hate radiating off her in waves.

"I hate it when you do that," she growls, gritting her teeth. She pulls her hand out of him as he struggles to stand upright. "Don't worry babe, I didn't touch anything vital, but you're going to have to stop knocking me out. It's totally bad for you."

"Next time…I'll keep that in mind…" he grunts, beads of sweat forming along his brow. He is still holding her, so he brings his knee up and knees her in the back. She cries out in pain as she slumps to the ground. "Now…we need to talk...I don't think this is working out between us!" he grunts as he barely doges a dark purple ball of destructive energy. "Hey! My other exes don't try to incinerate me with destructive energy when I break up with them!" he yells.

"What other exes? I thought I was your first? Remember the first time you've ever had sex?!"

"Vividly!" he ducks as she sends more purple balls his way.

"I don't! I don't think that you were able to get it in before you got off!" she laughs, pelting him with destructive energy.

"Oi! That wasn't my fault, I was a virgin!" he shouts throwing his own ball of energy. She caught it and expanded it ten times it's original size. She threw it at him and he barely dodged. It landed in the ground, creating an enormous creator, large enough to be a sinkhole.

Satan et increpet terram hanc dominam suam potestatem fugae!

Orihime turns around and sees Rukia, pale and panting, cursing her. "Did you just cruse me? You tried to take away my power of flight!" she throws her head back, a tinkering laugh escapes her. "You still don't get it do you? You can't stop me. No spell can touch me, I'm too far above for your spells to even reach me!" Rukia begans to float in the sky, her eyes and her token glows as an attempt to release Orihime's hold on her, but it's useless. It's like fighting water, impossible. "You can't stop me. No one can stop me. I am all powerful. And…you…are…dead."

"NOOOO!" Ichigo screams, barreling into Orihime, knocking her down, hard on the ground. Rukia falls from a great distance, landing hard on the ground, blacking out for a few seconds.

Ichigo wrestles with Orihime on the ground. "AHHH! WILL YOU STOP IT?!" she screams at him using her powers to propel him off of her. "YOU ARE RUINING EVERYTHING!" she screams.

"No! I will not let you kill anyone else!" He shouts, getting back up and rushing to her. She flicks her hand up and he flies over her, landing hard on the ground, skidding against the pavement.

"NO! Ichigo don't you see?! All those killings, all those monsters….the Noppera-bō…its Rukia's fault! She's created the Noppera-bō! She's the one that's trying to kill me!"

oOo

* * *

There's a town on the outskirts of Tokyo. A town where the outer city limits are full of rotting flesh, and internal organs. Where the streets are literally painted red with the blood of those that tried to escape. Bones, and crushed faces, pieces of bodies, all old and fresh, litter the streets. But inside the city is better. There are people that never cry.

They never argue.

They never fight.

They are smiling all of the time. Thinking of only happy thoughts and well wishes.

Because if they did anything other than that….

Well, that's why the town is filled with people that only do as they are told.

And that's why the city limits are full of the parts of people that didn't.

"Tsukishima-kun…you've done very well. I'm very glad that you've found her."

"Mistress…might I ask what you might do with this information…"

She smiles cruelly, her blood red lipstick shone brightly in the darkness. She turns to face her large window which takes the space of an entire wall.

"It's been a while hasn't it? I think it's time that I visit my daughter…don't you?"

* * *

**Now that scares even me. **

**Questions, Comments, and /Or Concerns? **

**Up Next: Halloween Part II**


	17. Halloween Part II

Shree: Don't worry, i always planned on updating all of my stories. I wouldn't leave you hanging

Sacha: You review honestly made me laugh. I hope you enjoy this chapter, it took me a while to write it. The ending is a shocker.

Guest: It's great to have you, I'm glad that I have a new fan. This is my favorite story out of all my others. I hope you enjoy it.

Animelover4evernever: I'm glad that you like this. I notice you from my other stories. It seems as though I have another follower, that's fantastic, nice to have you on team roses.

To the rest of you, please read, review and Enjoy!

* * *

"What do you mean she's trying to kill you?! Why would she want to kill you?" Ichigo yells, scrambling up and charging towards Orihime. She flicks her wrists and he flies up into the air. She yanks her hand down, bringing him close.

"She…trying…to…kill…me. If you really loved me at all that's all I have to tell you for you to be on my side."

He pants, looking at her, sweat streaking down the dirt his face was covered in. "That's just it. I don't know who you are. I want my Orihime, not some evil, bent on world destruction, dark energy manifestation that I created. Now tell me the truth, who's trying to kill Orihime?"

She growls, "I already told you the truth. It's Rukia. She has some vengeful spirit running around, breaking free killing everyone and releasing other spirits. This spirit of hers is old. I can give her this; she has no idea of what she does. She probably created it unawares; Kami knows how many have done that. But the fact of the matter is that somewhere in her heart she felt ill will towards me, probably jealously and that spirit of hers now has it out for me. The only way to stop it is to stop her. She must die."

"But you just said that she didn't do it on purpose! Why are you still bent on killing her?!"

"Have you not been listening?! The only way to stop the Noppera-bō is to kill her."

"She's just a vengeful spirit, isn't there some other way to exorcise her?"

"There is, but I like this much better. The fact that she can create a vengeful spirit strong and smart enough to survive and create chaos unawares for this long means that she's a threat. With a little training, her spells might become a problem for me."

"So you're saying that you want to kill because she might become more powerful than you?"

"No, she could never reach my level. But with this bitch still inside me, she can become powerful enough to reach her and that I just cannot allow. So if you'll excuse me,"

"NO! I'm not letting you kill anyone else." He reaches out and grabs her long orange locks, yanking them, pulling out a tuff of hair. Orihime screams, her eyes water.

"Really?! You're pulling my hair?!" She screeches.

"I'm sorry babe, but you're not killing anyone else. I can promise you that."

"Oh you want to bet on that?"

The air became thick, various, high powered energies surrounded them. Ichigo looked around, recognizing these energies. He yanks Orihime's hair, pulling her closer to him. Surprisingly, she allows him to hold on to her.

Various members of the organization appear, swords drawn in offense. Ichigo eyes widens, he hold Orihime tighter, knowing that they are there to attack her.

"Stand down Kurosaki-san. Inoue-san has become a threat; she has killed two of our own. She must be put down." Byakuya Kuchiki states calmly.

"Gomen Byakuya, but I can't do that." Ichigo tells him. "I'm sure I don't need to explain why." He shrugs.

"Kurosaki-san. The trouble you and your girlfriend has cost the Organization over the past years have been numerous. Now she has put this city in turmoil. The skies rage unnaturally with her dark power. Death and destruction is upon many and she is the cause. Gomen Kurosaki-san, but she must be dealt with." Yamamoto old voice rumbles.

"With all respect, we only gave the Organization so much trouble because the Organization was being ridiculous. However, it doesn't mean that I'm going to let you hurt her."

"You don't have a choice. Either you step down, or we'll put you down." Yamamoto threatens.

"How about you all bow down," Orihime hiss, her eyes glowing. Cracks begin to form in the ground, bits and pieces of rocks flying in the air. Members of the Organization go into the defensive position.

"Inoue-san, stop this at once. If you give yourself to us we will only detain you."

"Detain me? You couldn't detain me if I fought you with my hands behind my back. See?" she folded her hands behind her back and kicked her foot in the air. Purple energy flew from her foot and moved towards her attackers. Many of them jumps out of the way, however, a few are caught and instantly vaporized into dust. She tilts her head, smiling.

"Stop her at all cost. That is an order!" Yamamoto proclaims.

"Noo!" Ichigo yells, moving to stand directly in front of her, his sword held out in front of him in offense. "You will not touch her! I can fix this! I can fix her!" he yells. He feels an enormous amount of dark energy swell up behind him. The sky roars loudly as multi-colored lightning strikes the ground around them.

"I don't need fixing." She growls, the words reverberating in the space around them. Her orange hair whips around, flying madly about, whipping in front of her face, shielding her eerily golden eyes. However, something has changed about them. Instead of just the pupils being golden, the whites of her eyes is now shrouded in black, making the gold stand out even more, making her look even more demonic and twisted.

"Orihime…" Ichigo breathes as he sees the changes in his love. His heart is racing, as he searches his brain for something, for anything other than the obvious.

"Kill her!" Yamamoto demands.

"NOOOO!" Ichigo screams as his teammates, his fellow peers rush to his future bride to be, armed and ready to take her down.

He blocks the first one that reaches her, kicking him in the stomach, and spinning to block the next blade aimed at her head.

He fights. He fights as hard as he possibly can, unable to let them reach her. His life depended on her being okay, on her not being hurt in the least. It's irrational; because he knows that she is possessed, but he just can't…he will never give up on her when she needs him. And she does need him; she needs him more now than ever before.

"AURGH!" he screams, swinging harder, trying not to use deadly force but not seeing any other way. He can't let them hurt her, and he can't let her hurt them. He can't kill them himself, so he's utterly lost. He doesn't know what to do, he can't save them all.

He grunts as he feels the cold sharp metal slice into the flesh of his back. He staggers forward as he feels the cool metal slice into his flesh once more on his side. He swings his sword, slicing into the arm of the man that cut him. He narrowly avoids the steel blade of another attacker. He jumps back, spinning his weapon above him, and slicing in a downward arch.

He sees in the corner of his eyes Byakuya racing towards Orihime. He kicks one of his opponents off of her and throws his sword at Byakuya who deftly deflect the projectile.

"NOOO!" Ichigo screams, fighting his way to them.

Orihime looks at Byakuya, smiling. He pulls his sword back and thrusts it towards her. She lifts a hand to block him and he disappears. Her eyes widens as he reappears behind her, stabbing her in her shoulder. She stares at the blood covered sharp piece of metal sticking through her flesh, the dark, red blood dripping on the ground. There is complete silence as all movement stops and cease.

The ferocious blowing winds and strange lightening stops. A low rumbling in the distance as thunder began to build.

Orihime looks behind her at Byakuya blank stare. He looks guiltless. She screams.

"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she screams as she places her hand on the blade and pulls it through her shoulder. She enchants the blade so he is unable to let go of it. He frowns as she pulls him closer to her, his blade being coated entirely in her blood.

She releases him; his sword is repelled from her body. He lifts his weapon in the air and slices down. His blade cuts through her shoulder. He staggers back as he feels the sharp pain slicing through his own shoulder. She tosses her head back, laughing, as he quickly grasps the situation. Whatever he does to her, he's doing to himself.

She cocks her head to the side, laughing at his misfortune, thick streams of blood pouring down her shoulder, coating her delicate skin in red. "Did you really think that it would be that easy? I am the most powerful being on this planet." She laughs.

"Powerful? Yes. But the most powerful being on this planet? My dear…you don't even come close."

Orihime looks around, her beautifully evil face holding a frown as she sense an enormous amount of dark energy envelope the area, making the air difficult to breathe in.

People began to fall to their knees in a bow, groaning with the effort.

Byakuya shook, his muscles quivering, his face showing strain as he is forced to the ground by some unknown force. He fights with all the will power that he possess, his body screaming in protest, as a thin tendril of blood falls from his nose.

Orihime looks around for the source of the amazing power. Her eyes lands on Ichigo, who was forced to the ground by the mysterious power just as everyone else. She moves to him, kneeling down beside him, stroking his sweaty face with her bloodied hand. He grunts, his body quivering with effort.

Her eyebrows draw together as she takes in his pain. Someone is causing his pain. Someone is deliberating making him hurt.

She doesn't like that.

She turns around to face the one to blame for this atrocity.

A woman that looked too similar to her appeared before her. She had long orange hair, dark grey eyes and a maniacal grin. She could have been Orihime's older sister. She was clad in red silk dress that hugged her every curve, a long split along the dress up that went up to her hip, revealing her creamy white thighs, and her dangerously sharp, red bottom , black stiletto shoes.

"You did this?" Orihime spat at the women, her golden eyes holding murderous intent.

"Don't you know your own mother's handiwork?" the woman smirk.

"You bitch."

"Now, now listen. Before you go name calling, I would be more pleasant to one who can make your beloved kill himself in the most painful of ways."

"What are you doing here Vera?" Ichigo spits out, still fighting against the spell.

"Still didn't learn to respect your elders? Poor boy. At least you're bowing like you're supposed to."

"Oh, you think I'm bowing for you. No, I saw an ant and it was more deserving of my respect than you."

"Release him!" Orihime booms, standing to stare down the woman.

"I don't think that I will." Vera cocked her head and smiled, folding her arms over her ample chest.

"Fine then, I will." Orihime turned back to Ichigo, her eyes glowing brightly, the wind whipping her hair back and forth around her face as she poured tremendous power into undoing the spell that was casted on Ichigo.

She was blown back into the ground as the spell blocked her. She crumpled on the ground in a heap of smoke and dark energy. Vera tossed her head back and laughed loudly.

"You couldn't possibly believe that something like that would have worked? My dear…that's just plain preschool. It's preposterous."

"Shut up you old hag!" Orihime growls.

"Oh, so you searched through my daughter's memories and finally figured out who I am. It took you long enough."

"I said shut up!" She screamed, sending a deadly blast of energy her way. Vera merely caught the ball of destructive energy and absorbed it within her.

"Mm. That was delicious. Yes, my daughter is indeed powerful. She has great magic and even greater potential. If only she let me train her, none of this would have even ever happened."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, nothing. Just that I know how to get rid of you…while keeping her alive." Vera smiles darkly.

Ichigo ears perk up. He begins to struggle vehemently against the spell. "What do you mean by that Vera? Can you really bring Orihime back?"

"Quiet you!" Orihime tells him, facing Vera. "You're bluffing. The host of this body is dead. There's no way."

"Oh, my dear girl. You really and truly doubt my powers, don't you? Oh, then it will be so much fun when I prove you wrong."

"Oh yeah?" Orihime disappeared in a plume of dark purple smoke. Lightning strikes all around, hitting a few that was forced to bow down to Orihime's mother. A few strikes comes dangerously close to Vera, however, she doesn't even so much as blink.

"The light show is very pretty my dear, but if you think that you're impressing me, you so far off base, you're in the ocean."

A dark, powerful twister is formed in the air. It strikes the ground with a powerful force, ripping up the asphalt, leaving the ground with a deep scar. It aims for Vera, growing bigger and more menacing with each second. Vera smiles.

"Now that's what I'm talking about. Ah, you make mommy so proud."

"Shut it you low level yokai. I'm about to show you what true pain is."

"Oh honey, you're still in your rebellious stage." Vera shook her head, a smile on her face. "Looks like mommy will have to help you with that."

The twister of dark destructive energy flies towards Vera. A man from nowhere jumps in front and slices his arm downward, throwing a ball of energy towards Orihime. She is barely able to get out of the way, striking the ground with her fist, sending waves of dark power their way, blowing them from their spot. The man scrambles up quickly from the ground, running in front of Vera in a protective stance.

"Do not worry Milady, I will protect you." He states his eyes never leaving Orihime.

"You fool. Who told you that you could attack my daughter?" she growls lowly so only he can hear. The man's eyes widen as he brings his hand up to his head and began pulling chunks of hair out of his head. He starts scratching his face, pulling away skin, blood pouring down his face, his screams ringing all around them. Clumps of skin and flesh fall off and whites of bone began to show. Soon they man fell down in a bloody, disfigured mess.

"Oh what a shame. He was so very good a pleasing me. Oh well, he's replaceable. You, however, are not. You're my daughter. My pride and my joy. I would never let anything happen to you. Which is why, you demon, must go. I'm sorry, it's been real fun seeing what a low lever manifestation of dark energy can do, but I've grown impossibly bored and now, you need to evacuate her body. Now." Her voice became dark, despite its playful nature.

Orihime tilts her head, folding her arms across her more than ample chest. "Oh and how exactly do you plan on doing that?"

"Like this." She looked down and Orihime was forced to the ground, her hands balled tightly in fists striking the ground behind her as her face was pointed towards the sky. She struggled, trying to break the invisible hold that her mother had on her. "Ooh, I can feel your power. There's so much more inside you if only you allowed me to teach you. But how about this. I'll free you if…you come and be my apprentice? It'll be oh so much fun! I'll teach you knew spells and incantations, some that was banned by witches so long ago that the only ones that knows are old prudes and me. So what do you say?"

On the inside, Orihime weakly shook her head no. She knew her mother. She knew of the terrible things that she would make her do. Her mother isn't a good person. She was far from it. No matter how sweet and harmless she seemed, she was awful. The most awful person that Orihime could think of. She took life without regret. She held no sympathy, no compassion for human life. She was truly a monster in human skin.

"Oh come on now honey bunch. It'll only be a few months. I swear that I'll let you keep a little piece of your husband."

Orihime vehemently rejected the idea, knowing that her mother most likely meant his heart, a hand or something else that would have to be removed from his person. Vera threw her head back and laughed gaily.

"I know, I know, that was horrible. But honestly, I'll let you keep that little piece of him," she vanished and reappeared close to her, leaning down to whisper in her ear. "You know that piece of him that's growing inside of you? But be forewarned, if you reject me, I will give him the strength that is needed to kill you. But that will be after he learns that you are pregnant with his child. Now answer me these daughters who do you prefer. To leave him behind with the knowledge that you are safe and becoming stronger so that you will never again need him to fight for you. Or to have him being destroyed knowing that he killed his one and only true love and unborn child? I think that would kill him. From what I learned about that child, he can't live without you. And to be forced to kill you knowing that you have his child inside of you? To be forced to kill both of you? Are you really that cruel daughter? If so, than you're more like me that you thought." She smiles.

On the inside, Orihime could only hold her head in defeat. No matter which one she chooses, she loses. She has no doubt in her mind that her mother will give Ichigo the tools necessary to kill her. She has no doubt in her mind that killing her will destroy him. But she also has no doubt that if she accepts her mother offer that she would lose her soul.

So she had a choice to make. Her soul.

Or Ichigo's.

With a heavy heart. She gives in to her mother, knowing that she never really had a choice to begin with.

Vera pats her on head. "Good girl." She then shoves her hand through Orihime's chest, grabbing ahold of her heart. Orihime screams out in pain, grinding her teeth together. Vera looks at her with an evil glint, squinting her eyes. She yanked on something and Orihime felt herself being pulled back into her body, gaining full control over everything. But something was wrong.

It felt as though something was missing.

"There, you're all better. Well, at least for the most part." Vera stated, removing her hand from Orihime. Orihime fell to the ground, her heart beating erratically, her body completely weak. She couldn't feel that dark energy in her. In truth, she couldn't feel anything in her.

"My…my powers…you took them away…." She pants heavily. Vera only shook her head.

"No silly. I didn't take your powers away. What good would you be to me powerless? I only sealed them away with the dark energy, that's why you should be feeling some emptiness inside you. But don't worry, I'll teach you how to control that energy, that way, when your powers are unsealed, you'll be able to control it without being consumed." Her mother said stroking her hair.

Orihime nods into the ground, already accepting her fate of being forced to work with her mother.

"Okay, there's just one thing that I forgot to mention. I need you to break up with Ichigo."

Orihime lifted her head, her eyes wide. She looked over to where her beloved stayed in a bowed position, his forehead digging into the ground. "What?"

"You need to break his heart. Crush it so that he won't come after you. It'll be much easier for you to focus on your studies."

"I…I can't…I can't hurt him."

"Of course you can. If his life depends on it, I'm sure that you can do anything."

"No I can't. I won't. I won't break his heart. I'm already leaving, I won't leave him broken. It's the only reason why I allowed your help. Gomen mother but I will not hurt Ichigo. Now please. Let me have one day with him. One day is all that I need to say goodbye. I will see you shortly." Orihime tells her mother defiantly.

Vera looks taken back for a moment. Her face slides back into his sly grin and she nods, "Alright my daughter. If that's your final answer." She stands and turns from Orihime, walking away. Her spell on everyone is lifted, as they collapse on the ground, their energy spent.

"Orihime!" Ichigo calls, struggling to get up, falling on his knees. She smiles, seeing the face of beloved, love swelling inside her like a balloon. She gets up on legs made of soft jelly, unused to having her body back in her possession.

"Ichigo" she breathes, a smile painting itself on her face. A strange feeling come across her. The eerie feeling of something terrible about to happen consuming her. She turns her head to see her mother taps someone's shoulder. One of her henchmen maybe. But it's strange. Her mother doesn't have humans for henchmen.

The man nods and pulls a gun made of sliver with witch incantation carved into it.

The man is a hunter.

Orihime throws her hand out to knock the gun away from the man, only to remember that she's powerless.

He aims his gun towards Ichigo, who's oblivious of the imminent danger. Her mother must have done something to dull his senses. There's no way that he shouldn't know what's happening.

It was as if it was happening in slow motion.

"ICHIGO!" Orihime screams in panic, forcing her legs to move to him. With all the power that she possessed in her body, she ran, knowing that she's slower than a bullet. Tears choke her as she watches her love, unaware of the situation.

He makes it on his feet, smiling when he sees her running towards him, relief on his face that she's alright.

Tears stream down her face as she runs to him, her body feeling like its running through molasses. She cries out his name again, throwing her arms out to him.

He holds his arms out wide, making himself an easier target, still not aware of the gunman.

Orihime jumps in front of Ichigo, just in time to catch three bullets in her back.

She falls into his arms, pain radiating through her body. She feels Ichigo arms wrap around her, holding her close, embracing her in a hug, as he laid tender kisses on top of her head. He still wasn't aware of what had happened.

"Orihime…Kami, Orihime, I was so scared. I was so scared, I don't know what I would've done if I'd lost you. I…I wouldn't know how to live without you," he whispers into her hair.

She releases a cry, the pain in her heart from his words far outweighing that in her body. He was about to find out soon enough what life would be like without her.

"Ichigo…" she cries softly into his shirt before a terrible fit of coughing came over her.

"ORIHIME!" Vera scream, storming back to her. Ichigo looks up, holding on to Orihime tightly, a deep growl emanating from his chest.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" he yells, ready to rip her throat out.

"You fool! You killed her!" she shouts at him, ready to do the same to him.

Ichigo looks confused for a moment, looking down at Orihime, noticing her going limp in his arms. His eyes widens when he sees blood trailing out of her mouth. He becomes horrified when he sees the massively grown splotch of blood on her shirt. "Orihime…" he whispers terrified, unable to comprehend what was going on. She smiles, weakly lifting her hand up to caress his face.

"Icchi…go…" she smiles.

For the first time ever in her life, she sees tears in Ichigo's beautiful brown eyes. She sees tears in his eyes. For the first time ever. She wills them. She wills them with all of her might not to fall.

"Orihime…"he says softly. "…no…no, please…" She gives him a sad smile, her heart racing as her internal organs rupture.

"Please Ichigo…I'm so happy that you're alright…I feel no pain. Only regret…that I…won't die as your…wife…"

"No…" he moans, shaking his head. "No, please…Orihime…listen to me, you're going to be okay. You're going to be alright. I promise…I promise…SOMEBODY HELP ME! I NEED A WITCH. YOU...WOULD ONE OF YOU FUCKING WITCHES COME AND HELP!" he screams. "Don't worry Hime; you're going to be okay."

"Please Ichigo…"

He shakes his head, a lone tear falling. He was running out of options. She was dying and there wasn't anything the he could do. "I…I… I Kurosaki Ichigo…take you Inoue Orihime…to be my lawfully wedded wife…" he couldn't do it. He couldn't say it. Another tear fell.

Orihime smiles, wincing in pain. "…to have…and to hold…in sickness and in health…for richer and for poorer…for better or for worse" she winces…coughing harshly, blood spewing out of her mouth.

Ichigo grip tightens on her, unwilling to let her finish the rest. He will not let death part them so soon.

Her breathing becomes faster and shallower. A sudden look of urgency comes across her. "Ichigo…Ichigo…I have…Augh!" she cries out. "I have something to tell you…we have…a…we're…Augh…we're…Kumiko…I…she…ahh…"her heart races in her chest as she tries to confess to him of their child. But the pain was too great, radiating through her entire body.

"I…I love you Ichigo…" she groans out, a few tears escaping as she squeeze her eyes shut.

Her heart slows until the beating ceases completely.

* * *

So sorry, i really am.

Comment's, questions and concerns?

Up Next: Resurrection


	18. Resecurrection

**Well it's been a while, here's a small treat for y'all. I'm making my rounds, trying to update all my stories. So here's this. **

**To all my reviewers, I heard you...and I listened. So here you go. I finally updated.**

* * *

_15 Years ago_

_Ichigo looks around the train station for signs of his family. He was in the bathroom when the train came to a slow screeching halt. He hadn't felt well ever since they reentered Japan, and the feeling only became worse when they entered Karakura. He felt as though he was going to vomit, like something horrible was trying to make its way out of him._

_He spots the familiar honey blonde waves of his mother and immediately he smiles. He knows that he isn't supposed to have a favorite parent, but with his dad being a complete weirdo and not being able to hold a complete conversation it wasn't really much of a choice._

_He rushes to her, dodging as many people as they clumsy nine years old could. He runs into her legs, clutching her khaki skirt tightly, grinning goofily up at her. She smiles down on him, ruffling his bright orange hair._

_"There's my handsome prince, are you ready to go home Ichigo?"_

_"Yeah!" he nods enthusiastically._

_"Well you're father already caught a cab home with your sisters, I was thinking that we could take a walk by the Onose River. It's been so long since I've seen it."_

_"Yeah Mom, let's go there. Let's go to the River. I want to see if I can still skip rocks."_

_"What do you mean? We always went to the beach when we were in California."_

_"Yeah, but the water was so difficult and moving so weird, I couldn't skip rocks at all. But I'm going to see if I'm still the rock skipping King!"_

_"Hm hm, okay sweetheart, whatever you say." She hides her smile behind her hand. Ichigo gives a fake pout before sticking his hands out to the sides and pretend that he's an airplane flying around and making sounds. His mother only shakes her head and follows him at a leisurely pace._

_They slowly make their way to the Onose River, Ichigo immediately pick up some rocks and start skipping them across the river. They wouldn't make it very far. Most of them would only skip twice before falling flat._

_"Grrr! These rocks are completely stupid! I hate them!" he shouts throwing all of the rocks into the river._

_"Oy now, don't be such a fussy boots. You just need to take your time; you'll get your mojo back."_

_"No, you don't understand. It's hard, the rocks aren't doing what I want them to. They're just being complete and total jerks. I totally hate them!"_

_"Ichigo, sweetie, you can't hate rocks, they're inanimate objects."_

_"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" he yells at her, his energy flaring darkly and quickly. Ichigo's mother takes a step back, her eyes widening._

_"Ichigo…?" his mother looked at him startled, never once hearing her son raise his voice against her or felt his energy being so consumed with darkness. She knew of the darkness that lied within him because of the incident that happened when he was born, but never knew that it could become so dangerous and frightening._

_"Come here sweetheart. Let mommy hold you."_

_"NO! I don't want any hugs." He said darkly, his eyes turning a bright, horrifyingly amber. She could see his body twitching subtly, his teeth elongating as well as his nails, his hair tuning a pale orange. She took a step back covering her mouth quickly sensing the mounting danger._

_"Oh sweetie…I'm sorry. Mommy is so, so sorry…" she whispers seeing the horror that she's inflicted on her child since birth, knowing the horrible struggles that he would have to endure. "If only I had known…if only I hadn't been so selfish…" a tear escapes, sliding down the curve of her cheek._

_"Mommy doesn't be sad." Ichigo smiled at her, his childish voice cold and distorted. "Ichigo can't hear you anyway."_

_His mother shakes her head, her long honey blonde locks whipping back and forth with the motion of her head, more tears fall at a rapid speed. Her knees feel weak and it's only a matter of time before they give out on her._

_She knows that she must do something. That her son was preparing to hurt her. But she couldn't. He was her child. Her first born…her eldest child in which she loves so much. She couldn't bring herself to harm a single hair on his head, to even use her powers to restrain him. Besides, his states, what he's become…it's all her fault. She tried to change something that wasn't meant to be and now he's cursed because of it._

_"Ichigo…Ichigo…my son…please forgive me."_

_"I don't want to forgive you mother…What I want is something much more simple and a lot more fun…what I want…is for you to bleed."_

* * *

oOo

"Orihime...Orihime! ORIHIME!"

"STOP CALLING HER NAME! She can't hear you anyway she's dead."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU FUCKING BITCH!" he screeched at Vera.

"I understand that you're upset, but that doesn't give you a-"

She was cut off by Ichigo's clawed hand which miraculously closed around her throat and pinned her to the ground. His shoulder length orange had grown and his teeth sharpened to dangerous points. A feral growl emanated from his chest.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't crush your windpipe and rip your head from body and eat it." he snarled at her. Vera only looked back at him defiantly, not at all fazed by his show of strength and prowess. "Not good enough!" he growled, squeezing on her neck, feeling the soft bone break beneath his hand.

"Killing me won't bring her back. It won't make you feel any better."

"Yeah, well I'm willing to try." He replies in his distorted demonic voice.

"Ichigo, please…she's not worth it."

"Stay out of this Rukia. I want to see if this bitch bleeds."

"Ichigo…please…she's not worth it, besides…it hasn't been nine minutes."

"So."

"So…Ichigo there's still a chance. There's still a chance for her to be saved, but I'm going to need your help and you're going to have to let go of this anger. Otherwise, all you'll attract is dark energy."

Ichigo's eyes widens as his heart pulsates in his chest. His breathing slows as life seems to moves slowly around him.

"Wh…what….what are you…saying?"

"Ichigo…what your mother did for you, I can do for Orihime. I can bring her back to this world. But I'm going to need your help. She's not going to want to come, she's going to need a reason and I need for that reason to be you. I'll be to bridge to link the world of the living with the world of the dead. I'll try to get you as close as possible to her. But remember, you don't have a lot of time. Yokai will try to attach to her."

"So you're saying that…you're saying that Orihime…my…my…"

"Ichigo I don't have a lot of time!"

"Yes! GODDAMN, yes! I'll do anything, I'm ready!" He releases his grip on Vera and is over at Orihime's side in an instant. Clutching her cold, lifeless body.

Rukia moved to them and took Orihime's hand in her own. She grasped Ichigo's hand as well, looking him straight in his chocolate brown eyes that were tight with nerves and unease.

"Listen Ichigo-kun, I'm going to try my hardest to pinpoint the exact location in the afterlife where Orihime-nee is, but the rest is up to you. Yokai will try to trick and make you think that they are her. They are really good at it because when the living enters the world of the dead, their minds and their hearts are exposed. You're a beacon of light to them. If you fail to bring the true Orihime back, there is no turning back; there will be no second chance. She will be dead for good. If you take longer than…7 minutes, then it will be too late, she would be too far gone and I will have to pull you out. This will be like finding a needle in a needle stack, singularly, the most difficult thing that I can ever ask of you. Are you ready for that? Are you truly confident that you can-"

"Enough with the chit chat already Rukia; you said that we don't have much time."

"Alright then. Good luck Ichigo." Rukia closed her eyes as she settles on the ground. They busted open and bright light spilled from her eyes, flooding everything around them, encasing Ichigo in its painful embrace. He gritted his teeth as the feeling of his flesh being ripped from his very bones washed over him in intense waves.

He released a scream as it all became far too much for him to handle, the only thought he was able to focus on was saving Orihime.

After an eternity, the pain was over and he was in a dark abyss that felt cold and devoid of all life. He was floating; there wasn't anything above him or below him. The feeling a being suspended for an abnormal about of time began to take it's told on him. He started to feel sick and the urge to vomit became as necessary as breathing.

He felt his body being jerked forward in hyper speed, bypassing the nothingness until he came to a dark field of flowers, where hundreds of bodies were shuffling about slowly, seemingly undisturbed by his presence.

He landed in the soft grass, the gentle breeze a cooling sensation against his sweaty body. He looked around in search of a head full of beautiful fiery orange locks.

"Ichigo?" he hears the soft tinkling bells that was her voice. He turns around, a hopeful smile on his face.

"Orihime…?"

* * *

Comments, Questions, and/or Concerns?

Up Next: I actually don't know.


End file.
